Arguably the fastest brothers in Tasmanian tarmac rallying, Eddie and Steve Maguire, will go head-to-head this Sunday 6 December at the second annual running of the Poatina Hillclimb.
Hailing from Somerset in Tasmania’s North West, 28-year old Eddie and his younger brother Steve, will campaign the event’s Tarmac Rally category in separate cars – and both plan on being competitive.
Eddie, who owns his own security company, is an accomplished rally driver. He won last year’s Targa High Country in Victoria and this year won the inaugural Targa Hellyer and finished fourth outright at Targa Tasmania.
Eddie will drive his proven 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX in the Poatina Hillclimb and his long-time navigator, Mike Potter, will sit beside him. Just this October, Eddie and Mike won the final round of the Tasmanian Rally Series – the gravel Mountain Stages rally.
For last year’s Poatina Hillclimb, Eddie loaned his Evo to his mate, Burnie’s Jason White, who he navigated for in the event. Unfortunately, their campaign ended prematurely with the car upside down in a ditch.
“What I am most looking forward to about Poatina is that it’s a low stress event which brings all the fun back into the sport,” says Eddie.
25-year old Steve, who is a plumber by trade, has already shown great promise in tarmac rallying, winning the Early Modern category at this year’s Targa Hellyer in a 1998 Mitsubishi Evo V borrowed from Eddie. Tasmanian-based rally gun, Steve Glenney, was his navigator. “Steve Glenney is great guy to have sitting in with you, keeping you focused, reading roads and assisting with suspension setup,” says Steve.
For his first Poatina Hillclimb, Steve will campaign his brother’s Evo and has called on the expertise of Tasmanian navigator, and friend, Hobart’s Damien Grimwood to call the corners. The pair competed in Targa Tasmania together this year after winning a free entry from his Targa Hellyer success. Impressively, the Targa rookie finished fifth in Early Modern.
“Mostly, I am looking forward to the hairpin-style of the Poatina event, but for me any day you get behind the wheel of a race car – is a good day,” says Steve.
The brothers have their dad Paul to thank for their success in motorsport. He encouraged them into the world of motorsport at an early age, with both boys contesting North West Car Club events from their mid-teens. “Dad is usually at most events and is still great encouragement for us,” says Steve.
“Going head to head with Eddie is great but, at the end of the day, we race our own race and always end an event with pat on each other's back.” When asked what advice he gets from his older brother, Steve says “Eddie just tells me to keep it smooth.”
For Eddie, competing against his little brother is a lot of fun. “Steve is quite a talented driver and with a few more events under his belt like Poatina, he will become quite competitive. Mind you, the day he starts beating me will be the day he needs to find his own car,” jokes Eddie.
ABOUT THE EVENT
The second annual Poatina Hillclimb on Sunday 6 December will be held over an extended 10.2km section of the iconic Poatina Road. A field of over 50 cars will assemble for the event and each entrant will get six runs over the course throughout the day.
Poatina Village will again play host to the event’s vehicle display and finish celebrations and there’s plenty of vantage points from which to catch the action. There will also be lots of entertainment for families to enjoy on the day including a jumping castle and face painting.
