Three-day hill climb classic car event starts

A three-day rally on closed public roads featuring more than 70 local and visiting classic, vintage and modern sports cars is set to begin.

The Manx Classic Hillclimbs event will see stages held on the A36 Sloc Road, Creg Willey's Hill on the A3, and a section of the A18 Mountain Road.

Those taking part, who range in age from 18 to 81, include 52 visiting from other parts of the British Isles, and one from Nigeria.

First run in 1989 by the Manx Motor Racing Club, the organisation of the Manx Classic was passed to Longton & District Motor Club last year.

The oldest car in this year's line up is a 1956 Triumph TR, driven by Kirk Michael's Les Beards, with the newest taking part in a 2023 John Cooper Works Mini, brought to the island to compete from Daventry in Northamptonshire by David Snelson.

The competitors also include three generations of a Manx family, with 18-year-old Jack Mylchreest taking part in a 1968 Austin Cooper S alongside his father, James, in a 1966 Austin Healey 3000 and grandfather, David, in a 1963 MG MGB.

The events are free to watch, but spectators must be in place prior to the roads closures coming into force and stay there until they reopen.

Thursday: A36 Sloc Road, between the track to Scard Farm and its junction with Dalby Lhagg Road, from 09:00 to 17:30 BST

Friday: A3 Castletown to Ramsey Road, between the Poortown Road junction and Cronk Y Voddy, from 09:00 to 16:30

Saturday: A18 Mountain Road, between Barrule Park and the Bungalow, from 09:00 to 18:00

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