Oliver's Mount

Oliver's Mount is an area of high ground overlooking Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. It offers impressive views of the town, a tribute monument to the war dead, camping and caravanning at selected times of the year, 10 football pitches, 1 rugby league pitch, in the past a small school, and a cafe, but may be primarily known for its motorcycle races (however, cars have raced here twice, in 1955 and 1956). Oliver's Mount first held a motorcycle race in 1946, and continues to hold motorcycle circuit racing today, and also holds car rally and car hill-climb events.

Oliver's Mount
Oliver's Mount Track Layout
LocationNorth Yorkshire, England
Coordinates54.263°N 0.405°W / 54.263; -0.405
Opened1946
Major eventsFormula III
Oliver's Mount
Length2.41 mi (3.88 km)
Race lap record2:18.6 (Cliff Allison, Cooper-Norton, 1955, Formula III)
Startline scene in 1986

The site also hosted a new family friendly music festival from summer 2012. Opening 'International Bike Week', the 'Future Of Music - Oliver's Mount Festival'[1] will celebrate local, new music and will be held at Mount Farm, Oliver's Mount. It is being organised by the resident racing club 'Auto 66' and local music management and Promotion company 'Red Cherry Music'. It was first held over the weekend of 16 and 17 June 2012.

In 2016 Oliver's Mount was the summit for the final classified climb on the third stage of the Tour de Yorkshire cycle race.[2]

The site also houses the broadcasting transmitter which provides TV and radio services to Scarborough and the surrounding areas.

Oliver's Mount is named after Oliver Cromwell, as it was thought that he had sited guns there, although there is no evidence that Cromwell visited Scarborough during the Civil War. This name was in use by 1804; previously the hill was known as Weaponness, which now refers to the area of the town around Oliver's Mount and Filey Road, and one of the wards of the borough.[3][4][5]

Races

The Oliver's Mount track is a street circuit composed of twisty public roads and has played host to domestic motorcycling and rallying events for many years. Noted motorcycle racers who have raced at Oliver's Mount include Barry Sheene. The crowds for race events are known to have reached 58,000. Oliver's Mount racing circuit is the only street circuit in England. Throughout the year it hosts four weekends of motorcycle road racing and numerous hill climb challenges. With the Ian Watson Spring Road Races, Barry Sheene Classic Road Races, Cock o' the North Road Races and The Gold Cup drawing Riders and spectators from all over the British Isles. The races are organised by the Auto 66 club who attract many big name riders from the current road racing scene including Dean Harrison, Ian Hutchinson, Guy Martin, Ryan Farquhar, Ian Lougher, John McGuinness, Chris Palmer, William Dunlop and sidecar ace Nick Crowe amongst many other lesser-known, but very skilled riders. The circuit itself is 2.43 miles (3.91 km) in length and is not much more than a service road around Oliver's Mount. It is known as a technical and twisty track that requires a great deal of skill and bravery to tackle.

Oliver's Mount continues to hold motorcycle, car rally and car-hill climb events. Two Formula III events were held in 1955 and 1956.

In 2018, Oliver's Mount racing was cancelled due to safety concerns. As a result no racing took place.[6] Following this, the ownership of the event changed from the Auto 66 Club and the council granted a lease to GrantRoberts Ltd to operate the track as Two-Four-Three Road Racing Association, headed by former racers Mick Grant and Eddie Roberts.[7] In April 2019 GrantRoberts Ltd was renamed Oliver’s Mount Racing Ltd.[8] With support from Scarborough Borough Council, the venue will now host two events in 2019. These are the Barry Sheene Classic on 27 and 28 July and the Gold Cup from 27 to 29 September.[9]

British Formula III
YearDateEventWinning driverWinning constructorReport
1955 July Formula III Cliff Allison Cooper-Norton Report
1956 July Formula III Tom Dickson Cooper-Norton Report

British Superbike Championship
Year Race Rider Manufacturer
1987 1987 ACU Shell Oils Superbike Championship Rd.7 Roger Marshall 1100cc Suzuki
1988 1988 ACU Shell Oils TT F1 British Championship Rd.8 Jamie Whitham 750cc Suzuki

[10]

Services from transmitter
Oliver's Mount
Oliver's Mount (North Yorkshire)
Mast height41 metres (135 ft)
Coordinates54°16′03″N 0°24′16″W
BBC regionBBC Yorkshire
ITV regionITV Yorkshire
Local TV serviceThat's North Yorkshire

Analogue radio
Frequency kW Service
89.9 MHz 0.125 BBC Radio 2
92.1 MHz 0.125 BBC Radio 3
94.3 MHz 0.125 BBC Radio 4
95.5 MHz 0.125 BBC Radio York
96.2 MHz 0.5 Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire Coast
97.4 MHz 0.025 Coast & County Radio
99.5 MHz 0.125 BBC Radio 1

Digital radio
Frequency Block kW Operator
213.360 MHz 10C 2 MuxCo North Yorkshire
222.064 MHz 11D 2 Digital One
225.648 MHz 12B 2 BBC National DAB

Analogue television

Analogue television ceased from Oliver's Mount during August 2011. BBC Two was closed on 3 August and BBC One was temporarily moved into its frequency at the time to allow BBC A to launch in BBC One's old frequency. The remaining analogue services ceased on 17 August 2011.

Frequency UHF kW Service
727.25 MHz 53 1 Channel 4
759.25 MHz 57 1 BBC One
783.25 MHz 60 1 ITV1
807.25 MHz 63 1 BBC Two
831.25 MHz 66 1 Channel 5

References
  1. "The Future of Music Festival". Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  2. "Tour de Yorkshire Stage 3: When and where you need to be". itv.com. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  3. "The Weaponness Area Scarborough" (PDF). Scarborough Borough Council. 4 September 2007. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 November 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  4. Smollett, Tobias George (1804). The Critical review, or, Annals of literature. Series The Third. Volume III No. 1. W. Simpkin and R. Marshall. p. 319.
  5. Theakston's guide to Scarborough: comprising a brief sketch of the antiquities, natural productions, and romantic scenery, of the town and neighborhood. S.W. Theakston. 1854. p. 153.
  6. "Scarborough's Oliver's Mount Race Event OFF". Yorkshire Coast Radio. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  7. "Racing is coming back to Oliver's Mount in Scarborough in 2019". 'The Scarborough News. 5 May 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  8. "Oliver's Mount Racing Ltd". Companies House. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  9. "Oliver's Mount needs you! Appeal for volunteers before racing starts". The Scarborough News. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  10. "British Superbike race winners 1987 to 1992". Motorcycle Racing Online. Retrieved 6 April 2013.

Bibliography
  • Peter Swinger (2001). Motor Racing Circuits In England Then And Now. ISBN 0-7110-3104-5.
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