Vintage cars celebrate 75 years of Rob Roy hillclimb

The occasion saw close to 100 entrants for the event, one of the biggest turnouts of vintage cars at Rob Roy in recent years. These ran the full gamut, from the usual MGs, Austin 7s, Vauxhalls and Riley Specials, to the rarer and more exotic marques like Lombard, Bugatti, Amilcar, Wanderer, Delage and even Stutz. Heavy rain in the lead up to the event saw the off-track areas sodden and slippery, but fortunately, the rain stayed away for race day, so the track was dry and some good times were recorded.

While the August event was devoted to pre-War cars (the post-War and classic hillclimb event is scheduled for November 25), there were a few post-War entrants in the Invited Car class, and one of these took out fastest time of the day. Darren Visser's 1966 'Cyclo' open wheeler, powered by a Kawasaki two-stroke triple, completed the course in a best time of 26.22.

Next best behind the Cyclo was Jim Thompson's striking ex-Lou Molina 1925 Bugatti Type 23. Thompson's 27.69 was just ahead of Jim Russell's 1939 'Testa Piatta' Ford Special, which recorded a best time of 27.97. Russell's other '39 Ford special, driven by Paul Schilling, was next best with a 28.72, while Bill Redpath's 1954 Oldsmobile Special, featuring an Olds 'Rocket' V8 engine, Lancia suspension - and not much else - rounded out the top five with a time of 28.73.

Across all classes, a 1911 Vauxhall Prince Henry was the oldest car entered, but this rare Vauxhall had the limelight stolen by John Fitzpatrick's 1912 Bedelia. This rare French cyclecar, whose colour Fitzpatrick cheekily described as 'Ferric Oxide' (ie. rust!) drew a swarm of curious onlookers each time it made its way to the start line. This was due in part to its age and twin belt drive operation, but more so for its tandem two-seat configuration, with the driver steering from the rear seat. Power wasn't exactly the Bedelia's forte, and while it did struggle up part of the course a couple of times, a malady of some sort on its third attempt ended the day for this curious machine.

Away from the course proper, the display area attracted an equally diverse array of cars, everything from Lancia, Hispano Suiza and Alfa Romeo, to Aston Martin, Bentley, Isotta Fraschini, Chrysler, Wolseley and more. Arguably the most striking of these was the black Aston Martin roadster which, judging by a sticker in its engine bay, was a concours entrant at last year's RACV Motorclassica.

Event sponsors Zagame were raffling a new Fiat 500 on the day, which attracted attention, while Leon Sims' book on the history of Rob Roy from 1937 to 1961 attracted a lot of interest, too. Special tributes were paid on the day and in the event program to Diana Gaze, who died on August 5. Gaze, the former wife of Australian racing luminary and regular hillclimb entrant Lex Davison, had competed herself at Rob Roy in the late 1940s, amongst many other motorsport endeavours. Given the family history at Rob Roy, as well as that of her second husband Tony Gaze, Diana had expressed interest in being a part of the anniversary event, but unfortunately passed away a fortnight prior.

The second of two major events celebrating the 75th Anniversary, the '21st Historic and Classic' Rob Roy hillclimb, conducted by the MG Car Club Victoria, is scheduled to take place at Rob Roy on Sunday, November 25, 2012.