George Bowland (above) set a new course record at the Blue Ridge Hillclimb, breaking his old record set last year. In the photo at left, local racer Tom Richardson leads a line of racers back down Doughton Mountain Road after a run on Saturday.

Bowland sets hillclimb record

George Bowland shattered his own course record to take "King of the Hill" honors for the third straight year at last Saturday and Sunday's fourth annual Blue Ridge Hillclimb on Doughton Mountain Road between Sparta and Laurel Springs.

Bowland zipped up the one-mile, 15-turn course that features a 600- foot rise in elevation in 48.631 seconds driving his BBR Shark, knocking more than two seconds off the record (50.771) he set last year. "Just about everybody set new records in each class," Bowland said in a Tuesday interview. "It was a unique weekend; the weather was so good. Hillclimb requires that you approach it one notch at a time; you approach it slowly or you wind up in the trees. Two full days of dry weather afforded everybody the ability to step it up a notch." Bowland, who said he plans to be back next year, said this year's climb was the best yet. "There's no doubt that this year was the best of the events (since the hill climb moved to Alleghany County in 2003), and the mower race contributed to that," he said. "The mower race really rounded out the weekend."

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