Ten Questions - Caroline and Matthew Ryder - Going Up Hills Fast in 2022!
Report by David Harbey
1 January 2023
I’ve been a little lax in getting reports from the hills to PistonClick this year - a sum total of one from the first round at Prescott. Fortunately, Chris Bannister has been providing regular reports from Harewood. I managed to get to five rounds of the British Hillclimb Championship including a first visit to Harewood. Our summary of the year primarily focuses on Matt and Caroline to give you an insight into their season - going up hills fast!
Q1 - What car were you driving this season and why?
CR - Van Diemen RF86 FF1600 (#849). The Empire Wraith previously shared with Matthew was sold for a share in the Gould GR59J for him to drive. Neal Coles was looking for a way to get his son Alex on the ladder and so the car was shared with Alex (#149)
MR - After driving a variety of 1600cc single seaters over the last few years, an incredible opportunity came up before last season to drive the Class-L Gould. As you can imagine, it has been absolutely fantastic and I can't wait to step back into it next year.
Gould GR59J Judd
Q2 - What were your expectations of 2022?
MR - As the first year in the Gould, I set myself the challenge to finish the season with a British Championship number, and focussed the year on learning the overseas venues I had never visited before and getting used to the new car. To finish 5th in the standings at the end of the year far exceeded my expectations!
CR - To go out and have fun in something that would not need too much attention so that the family focus could be prioritised to the Gould
Q3 - What was your highlight?
CR - Winning the class at Loton Park in September and again at Anglesey in October (the latter whilst sharing the car with Matt's partner Kirsten Dodd for her first event, in which she finished second!)
MR - The highlight for me was my first British Championship run off win at Harewood in July, where I also broke the hill record at the same time. By that point in the championship, I was really starting to get a feel for the car, and taking the record was an incredible feeling.
Q4 - What was the event / incident you’d rather forget?
MR - This year was my first trip to the Channel Islands, which was a fantastic week apart from my incident at Guernsey during the first timed runs. A slight loss of grip caught me off-guard and led to a small touch of the wall with the front wing. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the spart parts needed to continue the event, which was a massive shame.
CR - Nothing in particular for me but gearbox issues with the Gould at Prescott springs to mind for the team's season as a whole!
Q5 - What do you fear most on the hills - the clock, your rivals or changeable weather?
CR - Definitely changeable weather. I like to know what I've got coming!
MR - None of the three worry me.
Q6 - What's your best tip for aspiring hillclimbers?
MR - Enjoy yourself! Hillclimbing is by far the most approachable, friendly and sociable form of motorsport I have competed in. Come along in a car for any of the classes and get stuck in.
CR - Don't look at anyone else's times, just start by focussing on enjoying it and chipping away at your own times
Q7 - What are your motorsport plans for 2023?
CR - More in the FF1600, although I won't be sharing with Alex as he is moving on to share with his Dad, Neal, in his OMS 1600. I may have another sharing partner on occasions though. Watch this space !
MR - Continuing to compete in the Gould GR59J for the British Championship, hoping to improve on the 5th place I finished in this year!
Q8 - Who is your motorsport hero (and why)?
MR - I don’t really have a hero but I started racing following in the footsteps of my parents and grandfather's racing and they inspired me to have a go
CR - I'd have to say my Dad (Ken Ayres who ran on the hills and sprints for many years and won the British Sprint Championship in 1982) as he brought me to the sport as a small child and it's become such a big part of my life. After that, for hillclimbing Roy Lane and Scott Moran for their cool smoothness and in F1 it would have to be Jenson Button and George Russell
Q9 - If you could swap places with someone else in motorsport - who would it be?
CR - Someone much younger with bravery and opportunities on their side. Maybe Matthew!
MR - I have had such a great year this year I am only really focussed on getting back into the challenge in 2023
Q10 - What is your dream competition car?
MR - As above, I'm just looking forward to driving the Gould again!
CR - I don't have a dream car especially but I do like new challenges. The FF1600 is great because all the cars are so evenly matched.
My thanks for Matt and Caroline for answering our questions.
For the record, the top three in the British Hillclimb Championship were -
1st Wallace Menzies 234 points
2nd Alex Summers 227 points
3rd Scott Moran 212 points
Footnote
If you can’t go hillclimbing for real, but are a SIM racer, Thomas Schmid has created tracks for a wide range of European hillclimbs. There is Prescott, Shelsley Walsh and most recently Loton Park available on Assetto Corsa. I reckon Doune would be pretty awesome too ! See - www.toms-sim-side.de
Andrew Harbey has been looking at these in what looks suspiciously like Caroline’s Formula Ford
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