28/05/2026
: 🏎🏎May 24th Round Report🏎🏎
54 cars took on the hill at Round 4 of the Southern District Motorsport Association (SDMA) Hillclimb at Fairbairn Park, and it was quite a unique day.
This round saw a special guest join in the fun. Local radio host, presenter and MC Cam Sullings signed up to race, saddling up Chris Polglase’s Daihatsu Sirion GTVi. Cam had a ball and took out third in class with a best time of 56.08 – what an effort! It was great to have him with us and we hope to see him back again. A big thanks to Chris for the lend of the car, and to everyone on the committee who helped organise Cam’s debut at SDMA. And of course, thanks for coming Cam! There’s a 2-lapper coming up, just saying…
Regular competitor Chris Dean and his business Integrity Air Conditioning and Mechanical Services proudly sponsored naming rights for this event. Chris and Integrity have been long-time supporters of the SDMA, so make sure you contact Chris and his team if you have any air conditioning needs – it’s great to support those who support our club.
After an early drizzle of rain made the track a bit like a slip-and-slide, conditions improved significantly by run 2. The day continued to warm up with little hints of sun here and there, setting the stage for some great times. Once again we saw more new faces join us (we always love this), as well as a number of seasoned competitors returning.
Reigning Canberra Hillclimb champion Andrew Ericson debuted his new Toyota 86, dual-entered with his dad Jamie – great to see Jamie back on track too. After the first run, Andrew was in third, with Anthony Oh and Jamie ahead of him. But in run 2, Andrew took off 3 seconds and took the lead. He then shaved off another second in run 3, securing the win with a 48.37. This left Jamie with 2nd at 49.88 and Anthony in 3rd with a 50.81. Great work!
Another returning racer was the legendary Col Merz, bringing out his beloved Jacer Formula Vee for a spin. Col put down some impressive times, with a best of 48.05. The car looked absolutely fantastic out on track.
Brad Tuohy continued to chase down that 45 – and we think it can see him coming. He scored a personal best of 46.12 after taking weight reduction to the next level and removing his passenger seat and front lip. Ask him how he did it – his technique is quite interesting!
Meanwhile, Cooma Hillclimb regular David Wicks returned again, going full send in the ‘Chilli Rowdster No2’ – another Wickspeed car added to the SDMA rotation!
Alex Finch took home fastest time of the day with a 44.91 in his VW Passat (more like VW Passout – ‘cause that’s what you do when you hear how fast he is!).
There was also a first-time burnout from some lady in a Fiesta ST… and quite a few personal bests were bagged throughout the day as well. All in all, quite the winner of a day.
Finally, Peter Mitchell smashed his own class record with a best time of 53.63. We reckon Peter better watch out for Peter next time…
Speaking of records… let us peruse the results!
Class winners – Round 4
Class A Road – 2WD 0-1600cc
Tom Ballard – Mazda MX-5 – 51.01
Class A Road – 2WD 1601-2000cc
Steven French – Mazda – MX-5 – 48.96
Class A Road – 2WD 2001-3000cc
Daniel Ferrett – Hyundai i20N – 50.79
Class A Road – 2WD over 3000cc
David Deaves – HSV GenF GTS – 47.85
Class B Road – 2WD 1601-2000cc
Andrew Ericson – Toyota 86 – 48.37
Class B Road – 2WD 2001-3000cc
Sam Seears – Ford Fiesta ST – 50.6
Class B Road – 2WD over 3000cc
Sean Martin – Mazda MX-5 – 48.16
Class C Road – AWD 2001-3000cc
Stewart Kerr – Toyota GR Yaris – 51.49
Class C Road – AWD over 3000cc
Michael Davidson – Mercedes A45s – 47.5
Class D Road – AWD over 3000cc
Alex Finch – VW Passat – 44.91 (Fastest time of the day)
Class E Road – Special Vehicles 2001-3000cc
Glen Braz – Porsche Boxter – 48.6
Class E Road – Special Vehicles over 3000cc
Brayden Philp – Ariel Atom – 46.03
Class F Track – Racing Sedans 0-1600cc
Peter Mitchell – Suzuki Swift Sport – 53.63 (Class record)
Class F Track – Racing Sedans 1601-2000cc
Nick Besestri – Peugeot 206 Gti 180 – 52.63
Class F Track – Racing Sedans 2001-3000cc
Christopher Jefferys – Nissan Skyline – 48.96
Class F Track – Racing Sedans over 3000cc
Brad Tuohy – Nissan 370Z – 46.12
Class G Track – Sports Racing over 2000cc
William Dengate – Subaru Liberty – 47.05
Class H Track – Open Wheeler 1301-2000cc
Colin Merz – Jacer FVee – 48.05
Great job everyone, and congratulations on your wins! As always, all competitors should be very proud of their efforts. You are all amazing – it takes great courage to put yourself out there in front of a crowd.
Full results (including top speeds!) are published on the 2026 results page of our website.
Championship update
Can you believe we are almost half way through the year?!
With that, it’s time for a championship update – thanks to David Deaves for providing the stats for this!
Andrew Ericson won his class despite changing to the new car, retaining a 1-point lead in the championship. David Deaves and Stephen French are tied 1 point behind Andrew. Brad Tuohy is 2 points behind Andrew, following a spin at turn one in run 3. This is some tough competition!
Reminder about post-event presentations
A reminder that at the end of every event there is an award presentation in the Pit-Stop Café to celebrate the winners and place-getters from the day. We’d love you to stick around for this – it also comes with some free snacks and a drink! Plus, it’s nice to get together and celebrate each other’s efforts.
Volunteering
Last week was National Volunteer Week, honouring the contributions of volunteers and inviting people to make 2026 a year of meaningful involvement. So what better time than now to shout out our wonderful volunteers and officials? Without these people and their tireless work, our club simply would not function. The team is also always coming up with ideas to keep these events at a low cost to competitors. We are always interested in any more ideas you may have to help with this.
Volunteering for our club is a fantastic way to meet new people, learn skills and make a meaningful contribution to this community that means so much to us. All club members are encouraged to help out at one working bee each year. This helps share the load of prepping for events and makes sure we can run safely and efficiently.
We’d like to thank everyone who helped at the last working bee – we even had some non-members come along and pitch in, which was lovely to see and much appreciated.
If you would like more information about volunteering or being an official, email our SDMA President.
Live timing
Our SDMA live timing is available at every event – scan the QR code on the timing screens in the Pit-Stop Café or visit the SDMA timing website (timing.sdmahillclimb.com.au).
Working bee – Saturday 20 June, 9am onwards
We’ll be holding a working bee the day before our next hillclimb. Keep an eye on your inbox or RSVP via the Member Jungle app. Every bit of help keeps our facility running safely and efficiently.
Next event – Sunday 21 June, 10am onwards (new time)
Put this date in your diaries and please note this will be a 2-lap event. The time has been moved to 10am so we can try to avoid the worst of the winter morning and have a sleep in! Make sure you bring along your warm clothes, and the Pit-Stop Café will have the hot food and drinks ready as always.
See you at the hill,
SDMA Committee – Carly Summerell
Photography -
