MATT Ryder came out on top in a three-way battle for the course record at the Craigantlet Hill Climb on Saturday.
Ryder set the pace in his second timed run, beating the previous record by two hundredths of a second, at 39.10s, but one of his rivals, Wallace Menzies, a former four-time Champion, set a time of 39.03s.
Will Hall then upped the stakes, producing the first-ever, sub-39 seconds run over the 1,460-yard course, with a time of 38.64s.
However, Ryder was not to be outdone, responding with a blazing time of 38.60s, four hundredths of a second faster than Hall and is 0.62 seconds quicker than the record set by Scott Moran in 2016 and equalled by Dave Uren in 2019 (39.12 seconds). Ryder’s average speed was 77.4 mph.
The tension was palpable as spectators, other competitors and officials watched these three drivers battle for the record time.
Ryder beat Hall on both of the top 12 run-offs, winning rounds three and four of the British Hill Climb Championship (BHC) with blistering times of 39.10s and 38.60s. His two runs were nine hundredths and a mere four hundredths of a second faster than Hall.
Menzies finished third position in BHC rounds three and four, with Uren in fourth, Trevor Willis in fifth and Paul Haimes in 6th.
His stellar performances in Craigantlet mean Ryder now has a two-point lead over Hall and an eight-point advantage over Menzies, with the trio set to do it all again at Harewood next weekend.
All of the other competitors entertained the crowd in the second round of the CAS-KART Association of Northern Ireland Car Clubs (ANICC) Championship.
Dunadry’s Tim Woodside, in his 2.5 litre Gould GR55, recorded a time of 43.78 seconds, finishing in 11th place overall and topping the ANICC results.
The second fastest local competitor was Crumlin’s Steven Robb (16th overall), who posted a time of 46.51s in his GTR Turbo, while Templepatrick driver Simon Woodside and his Pilbeam MP82 placed third overall, setting a time of 47.22s.
Fourth place local honours went to David Mutch, from Belfast, taking 47.64s in his OMS PR, and Kells’ Dan Campbell completed the top five ANICC competitors in his Toyota Starlet, taking 47.93s to cover the 1,460 yards up the hill.
The fastest lady to the top of the hill was Nicola Menzies, in her Gould GR55B, which she shares with Uren. Nicola finished 10th overall with a time of 44.9s.
The Tony McShane Trophy for the fastest Northern Ireland newcomer was presented to Adrian Lemon, from Comber, who finished 77th overall with a time of 64.82s in his Mini 1.
The ANICC revised the class structure for 2026, meaning all the class winners at Craigantlet are now new record holders.
The club is very proud to have safely and successfully run the 113th edition of Craigantlet Hill Climb, which we know has been enjoyed by all who participated in and watched this amazing spectacle.
