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ON WEEKENDS GEOFF BRISBY SWAPS HIS SHIRT AND TIE FOR A FIREPROOF SUIT AND HELMET. THE HERITAGE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL PRINCIPAL IS CURRENT LEADER IN THE SPORT OF HILLCLIMBING.
i Geoff. What is hillclimbing, and how did you become involved? Hillclimbing is one of the most challenging forms of motorsport. It is a combination of driving skill and engineering setup. My dad raced motorbikes, so I was always at race tracks and hanging out with people who had horsepower in their veins. I started in 1974 but have only competed at state level for the last four years. Walk us through a typical race … We don't get “out laps” or warm ups, so when we sit on the start line, everything is cold - tyres, brakes, suspension and driver. You sit there, not having had a chance to sight the track or feel the grip levels before it's “game on”. The launch is critical, and the aim is to get the car moving with minimal wheel spin. The track at Bathurst is really tricky. Gear changes in my car take place at around 6,600 rpm, so I am near the rev limiter in third gear, just as I am about to take turn one. Because my tyres are cold, the car is always sliding. When I climb the mountain, the car slides from one wall to the other flat-out in third gear at around 150 km an hour. At tracks like Huntley, near Wollongong, it is all over in 26 seconds for the top cars. You go from sitting still on a bitumen road that is so steep you can barely walk up it, to 160 km
an hour, through four corners that thread you between trees and tyre walls and back to a standstill. This all happens within 26 seconds. How dangerous is hillclimbing? It can be dangerous. Last year a driver was killed when he left the track at high speed and hit trees. If we make a mistake or have a mechanical failure, it can be punishing. In my class, the cars are road registered, so we don't have a roll cage. My car has a race seat, six-point harness and fire extinguisher. I also wear a full fireproof suit with gloves, boots, and good quality helmet. Is it an expensive sport? It depends on what class you run in, and how close to the front you want to finish! You can race the car you drive on the road with a couple of very simple changes, like bolting a fire extinguisher in. Or, you can buy a Formula 3 race car and go nuts. It is really up to each person. Why do you choose to race a Holden Special Vehicles Clubsport? The car is awesomely quick straight out of the box. I've tinkered with mine, and it is a brilliant race car. The LS series V8 engine has huge potential power-wise, so for a budget racer they are a great starting point. Tell us about the modifications to your HSV. All road cars are a compromise. They come from the factory set up to do a good job on average roads with an average driver behind the wheel. A race car needs to accelerate, stop and
turn instantly. To make a car that weighs 1,600 kg do that, you need a lot of horsepower, stiffer suspension and bigger brakes. My car has been built to have good “balance”, so it does everything really well. Everything works together to make good lap times on tracks as varied as Bathurst, with its high speeds and long, flowing corners, to Tamworth, that has a series of low speed hairpins and big braking zones. Heritage Christian School teaches from a strengths-based perspective. What strengths do you have that make you a successful race car driver? Motor racing involves planning and good judgement. “Connectedness” is one of my dominant strengths, so I can weigh up situations very quickly and react in ways that keep all the options open. My nature is to see the little things as part of the bigger picture. A race track is not a set of individual corners; it's a series of corners that you need to be able to make flow one after another. Each corner sets you up for the next. When you run a school, you are in a constantly changing environment that you have to be able to react to. The trick is to invest in the staff and kids, and take the risks that make sense. Sometimes you feel a bit like you are sliding towards “walls”, but there is not a child in my school who is not worth it. Where do you stand in the NSW Hillclimb
Championship at the moment? I won the Road Registered Non Log Booked class in 2015 and 2016 and have had another great start this year. I won the first four rounds and set lap records at Bathurst and Kempsey. That leaves me on maximum points, with a good buffer between me and the guy in second. So I'm happy! How do you become involved in the sport? It's as easy as joining a registered club, like the Australian Racing Drivers Club, of which I am a member, and getting a CAMS licence. It is very straightforward and doesn't cost a great deal. You can join the Kempsey Sporting Car Club for around $35 a year. How do you use your love of hillclimbing to inspire students at your school? I understand what it is like to win, and to lose. One day you are on top of the heap; the next you are picking bits of your car out of the bush! It keeps your feet on the ground. Kids need to have real people who understand real life leading them. I'm not your average “went to school, went to uni, went back to school” Principal. I'm an engineer who came to teaching after an industry career. I want young people to discover what they are passionate about, and go for it. I did it, so they can. Thanks Geoff. Interview and photos contributed by Nikala Sim. greater port macquarie focus. 85