Every year in western Wisconsin there is an old school hill climb race.
The Waumandee Time Trials!
Event organizer Tom Hazen has been hosting this event for the last 11 years, and he has done an amazing job making it more than just an event but an awesome weekend of activities!
I was introduced to this event from my friend Dan From earlier this summer and when he told me about it, I was so excited I signed up the same day! Late last fall, Dan was searching for a new fun car and I sent him a link to a 1999 Mazda Miata, very soon after he bought it!
We set off on Friday; the drive was about 125 miles, most of it was down the Great River Road Wisconsin W35. It's an amazing drive!
When we got to the paddock we grabbed some brooms and made our way to the section of road to start cleaning. I took this opportunity to not only help out, but as I had never driven the road I wanted to walk the track and get a feel for what race day would bring.
They are multiplying...
Brad, in the other '99 black Miata followed Dan and I to Danzinger Vineyard where we found another '99 Miata driven by Merlin. It was fun to have 4 of the same car all very different styles!
This meet-up was the official start to the event; after hanging out at the vineyard Tom led a drive through the countryside and up the course we would be racing on the following day.
After the drive we went to Suncrest Gardens Pizza Farm.
After dinner we all turned in because you can't be at the track all day if you don't start first thing in the morning !
RACE DAY !
We were up long before the sun and I grabbed a cup of coffee before heading up to the paddock about 20 minutes away, foggy from the overnight rain. Upon arrival we unloaded and setup our spot for the day. My car was a little on the low side for driving in a farmers field so I wanted a spot close to the entrance.
And then, RAIN, a ton of rain, for like hours! I missed out on getting any morning runs , and all of our hard work sweeping the track the day before had left the track wet and full of leaves, acorns and sand.
It was a wet rest of the day, but after lunch the rain held off long enough for us to get some runs in! I was able to get 4 total runs in and bettered my time each lap!
Getting to the bottom of the hill for each next run involved taking a route going down on the other side of the hill, which allowed us to keep running cars up without having to wait to send cars back down! And allowed more beautiful views of the rural Wisconsin countryside. Check out this time laps of the drive from the paddock down to the starting line.
This video (below) is one of my runs up the hill.
After the course was cold we all packed up and headed to Vino in the Valley for the banquet dinner. Tom gave each driver a certificate with their fastest time written on it. This was my first time competing in years! I was 12th place over all of 42 drivers, I am happy with the results and would like to go again next year to improve on my time.
This was more than just a track day, it was a full weekend! Meeting new drivers from other areas all enjoying the same thing: the rush of racing up the hill! LINK Photo gallery on Facebook