THE Coronavirus might have us searching for alternate venues, and if Europe or Pikes Peak has taught us anything, hillclimbing could be the answer. Face the facts, it’s the social distancing version of circuit racing!

WORDS & IMAGES: Mark Walker

Introducing Kevin Heffernan, a popular privateer from the mid to late 1990s V8 Supercars scene.

The Price Attack VL, then subsequent VP and VS were always immaculately presented, with the latter iterations featuring miles of pin striping, with Kevin’s subsidiary sponsorship from KFC and Channel 10 seeing him as a regular on local Queensland TV screens.

These days Kevin is still a fixture on the state level circuit, largely in Historic Touring Cars.

Back in 1997, Supercars wasn’t quite the closed shop it is now. Prior to the full franchising of the sport, genuine privateers still formed the bulk of the field, with there being no Development Series in place.

Seeing a V8 Supercar at a club meeting (pictured below in a Sports Sedan race at Lakeside) or a hillclimb wasn’t outside the realm of possibility.

These days, it’s illegal to drive a Supercar under power at anything less than a race meeting, an approved test day, or pre-approved activity, such as ride day or media opportunity, all of which are under the supervision of a Supercars nominated official.

Mount Cotton, to the south of Brisbane, is a wild 946m stretch of bitumen that has been a battleground for the brave since 1968, with a young Dick Johnson cutting his teeth against the clock there in his formative days.

While the old video tape isn’t the greatest quality, you still get a great impression of the right foot efforts of Heffo around the Hill!

CHECK the videos below for a couple of mega committed laps of Mount Cotton…