Baitings Dam Hillclimb Course

These pages have moved to http://www.nwsprints.co.uk where there are no annoying adverts, pop-ups or spyware and it responds quicker too! Baitings Dam is one of the tightest hillclimbs around.  With its succession of 1st gear hairpins it's almost a different discipline altogether from courses like Aintree.  The course record is 25 or 26 seconds.  I think the record may be held by Ian Scott in his home built, but very professional, motorbike engined Megapin.   If you can get up in under 30 seconds you are doing well.  It is popular with rally cars and there are usually special classes for them.  Anything with a short wheelbase is particularly suitable, so minis and imps do well.  On a rainy day you could get even FTD in a road car - an Elan did so about 10 years ago.  Some nutters even hillclimb motorbikes there.

Course Description
Baitings Dam is very narrow, bumpy, steep and most of the bends are off-camber.  It's only about 400-440 metres long.  It consists of  three first gear hairpins and a second gear bend.  It goes something like this:
The start is quite steep and the surface there is often breaking up.  This takes you onto the first short straight which contains a kink to the right which can be safely ignored.  Next comes the first left hand 170% hairpin.  The inside radius can't be more than 6 feet across.  There is no run-off to speak of on the outside just the bank but the proximity of this is a good traffic calming measure!  Next comes a very short straight leading onto a right hand 170% hairpin which is marginally more open with some run-off.
	This takes you onto another short straight leading up to the left hand 160% paddock hairpin.  Watch the high kerb on the inside and the dry stone wall on the outside.
Now you are onto the main straight which is quite bumpy with (admittedly small) trees on the right hand side and 100-150 yards long.
	You may hit 70 before it steepens at the end which is handy for braking into the 2nd gear right-hander.  Over enthusiasm can take you into the grass which is long so visibility is poor.   Glyn Sketchley even managed to become wedged under the picket pence!  Then it is a 30 yard blast to the finish and heavy braking into the top paddock holding area

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How to get there

Turn off the M62 towards Ripponden.  As you enter Ripponden, take a hairpin left at the traffic lights onto the A58 towards Rochdale.  Proceed for two miles.   The course is on the left opposite the New Inn pub.

Likes

• A friendly, sociable place, no officious officials, no stress and run when you are ready.
• Not many runners = plenty of runs (as many as 8 in a day which is pretty good value).
• As a competitor you can see most of the action most of the time.
• A pleasant place to marshall - the competitors sometimes do this at paddock bend.
• The time difference between fastest and slowest can be quite small particularly when its wet.

Dislikes

• Hairpins - too many of them.
• The "racing line" is marked by a thin black line, you know you are off that line when you are on the green bits on either side or stuck up a bank.
• Hard on transmissions.
• I always perform particularly badly here!