Harewood Speed Hillclimb - the home of motorsport and motor racing in Yorkshire and the North of England
BARC Harewood Motor Racing hill climb - the UK's longest hill climb
2008 event reports: |
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2007 event reports: |
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Banner wins Jim Thompson Trophy Meeting Dave Banner took fastest time of the day at the Jim Thomson Trophy meeting on Sunday 8 June at Harewood Speed Hillclimb in his 1098cc OMS 2000M race car and extended his lead in the Harrogate Audi Fastest Time of the Day (FTD) Championship. Second spot was secured by arch rival John Chacksfield in a similar car. Third place fell to Peter Hamilton in his 2 litre OMS CF04. In fact seven of the top ten places were taken by the Yorkshire built race car manufacturer OMS. The Porsche cars class was won by Colin Belton in his 993 RSR, after breaking a drive shaft earlier in the day, with all his three runs being under the class record. The top for places in the over 2 litre modified saloon and sports cars were separated by less than a second, with current Harewood Champion Karl Jackson in his Mitsubishi EVO coming out on top, extending his lead in the 2008 Harrogate Audi Championship over Nottingham’s David Marshall. Sarah Bosworth won her class by 0.2 secs in the Lotus Elise, from Tony Hart’s Renault 5GT. Chris Mason had a lucky escape when the Jaguar E Type he was driving suffered from a stuck throttle, which catapulted the Jaguar off the track at the final corner. Whilst the car suffered some damage, Chris was unhurt. In the 1100 – 1600cc race car class the top three drivers were separated by 0.6 of a second, with the fast improving David Grey taking the win and consolidating his second place in the FTD Championship. The next meeting at Harewood is on 5 and 6 July when two rounds of the Nicholson MacLaren British Hillclimb Championship will be contested. Fastest Time of the Day Dave Banner, OMS 200M, 55.01 Class Wins (R denotes record) Richard Patteson, Peugeot 106, 74.36 |
Classic and Vintage Meeting Report |
Husband and wife win the race Jon and Bronwen Waggitt from Boroughbridge secured first and second place at the Harewood Classic and Vintage Hillclimb in their Brabham BT30 race car on Saturday 7 June. Last year Bronwen took top spot at the event. This year Jon was the only driver to achieve a sub 60 second run at the UK’s longest hilllclimb. Mirfield’s Andrew Thorpe completed the top three in another Brabham after significant work on the gearbox limited his track time. The meeting was host to a wide variety of cars from days gone by, including Edwardian cars, pre and post war cars built up until 1972. Cars ranged from the diminutive 747cc Austin Sevens to the monster 12 litre Amilcar of Robin Baker. Nearly half of the class records set at last year’s inaugural event were broken on Saturday. The next meeting at Harewood will include two rounds of the Nicholson McLaren British Championship on July 5 and 6, where the UK’s top Hillclimb drivers will tackle the 1448 meter long tarmac track. Fastest Times of the Day 1st Jon Waggitt, Brabham BT30, 59.67 second Class wins (R denotes new class record) Nick Stevens, Ginetta G12, 65.48
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Scottie Scoops the Silverware!
Scott Moran sets fastest time of the day - image © hedward.com Scott Moran took the fastest time of the day with a blistering 49.35 second run at Harewood Hillclimb on Sunday in his 3.5 litre Gould race car. Scottie’s best time was just 0.16 seconds shy of his own hill record at Harewood. In the process Moran won both rounds of the Nicholson McLaren British Hillclimb Championship to keep him in number one spot of the British Championship. Reigning champion Martin Groves set second fastest time of the day in his Gould before succumbing to fuel pressure problems on his second qualifying run and also in the second round run off. However, top drive of the day must go to Jos Goodyear in the 4 litre Pilbeam MP97. Goodyear absolutely attacked the Yorkshire track, showing great car control as he set a superb 50.60 second run, just 0.4 outside Martin Groves time. |
Harewood Open Meeting Report |
OMS drivers claim top 3 places at Harewood High track and air temperatures and a slightly dusty track following mud being carried on to the track at the April meeting impeded the drivers times at the Harewood May Open meeting on Saturday 10 May. Airbus pilot trainer James Blackmore set the fastest time of the day with a 54.05 second run in his 1600cc OMS CF05 race car. Blackmore was 0.84 seconds clear of Melton Mowbray driver Dave Banner in his 1100cc OMS 2000, who just pipped Bradley’s John Chacksfield in a similar OMS by 0.02 seconds, completing an OMS one-two-three. OMS race cars took seven of the top 10 places. 2007 Harewood Champion Karl Jackson won the large capacity saloon car class and in the process extended his lead in the Harrogate Audi Championship. Competition in the under 2 litre saloon car class was intense with the top six drivers separated by less than a second. Nottingham driver David Marshall took the win from Arthington’s James Kerr, both in Peugeot 205 GTis ahead of Bradford’s David Sturdy in the supercharged VW Polo. Marshall consolidated his second place in the Harrogate Audi Championship and Kerr moved up to third after Henry Moorhouse had one of his characteristic excursions in the Westfield. Rochdale driver Andrew Henson took his Formula Ford Swift to a clear win over Frazer Graham’s Van Diemen, just a second shy of the class record. Whist York driver Terry Everall was under half a second off the 1400 to 2000cc modified production car record and over two and a half seconds clear of the second placed driver. Fastest Times of the Day James Blackmore, OMS CF05 , 54.05 Class wins Martin Rowe, Peugeot 106, 69.37
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Spring National Meeting Report |
Clean sweep for OMS cars at Harewood It was a clean sweep for North Yorkshire race car constructor OMS at Harewood Hillclimb on Sunday. Trevor Willis took his 2.8 litre OMS CF06 race car to a first win of the season. The Aylesbury driver, who won two British Championship rounds last year, set a best time of 57.06 in very difficult conditions following heavy rain in the morning and a slippery track in the afternoon. OMS constructor Steve Owen secured second place with a best time of 59.15 in his 1.6 litre OMS Hornet race car, whilst Nottingham’s Dave Banner took third spot in his 1100cc OMS 2000m car. In fact the top nine places were all secure with OMS race cars. Leeds based 2007 Harewood Champion Karl Jackson, stamped his mark on this years Harrogate Audi Harewood Championship in his powerful Mitsubishi EVO and took an early lead over Nottingham’s Dave Marshall in the Peugeot 205 GTi and Leeds driver Henry Moorhouse in the always sideways 1600cc Westfield. The MG Cars group 1 class winner Michael Ashcroft, from Aintree, was separated by just 9 one hundredths of a second in his ZT from second placed man David Jones in the TF from Stratford on Avon, with Lincolnshire driver William Sharp in another TF under a second behind Ashcroft. Another good driver was put in by Chris Wise in his ex-works Ford Escort running slick tyres for the first time with a 67.85 second run, beating many much more modern machines. In the under 1100cc race car class competition between OMS divers Dave Banner and Bradley’s John Chacksfield was intense. Chacksfield took the lead in the first run, but was beaten by Banner on the second run with a faster time. The difficult conditions caught out a number of drivers, keeping the Harewood marshals busy. The next Harewood events are on Saturday May 10th for the Harewood Open and on Sunday May 12th for the British Championship round. Fastest Times of the Day 1. Trevor Willis, OMS 57.06 Class wins Martin Jones, Ginetta 75.46 |
Mike Wilson Memorial Meetings - September 15th and 16th |
James Blackmore took another Fastest Time of the Day (FTD) at the Mike Wilson Memorial meeting at Harewood Speed Hillclimb on Sunday in his 1600cc OMS CF04 race car. James' best run was 53.25 seconds, just one hundredth slower that the previous day's race. Peter Newton secured second place in his 2 litre Pilbeam, ahead of Dave Banner in the 1098cc OMS 2000m. Karl Jackson took the annual Cubicle Centre Harewood Speed Hillclimb championship and class win in his 600 bhp Mitsubishi EVO, although he was pushed for his class win from Andrew Archbold in another EVO. Second place went to James Kerr in his Peugeot 205, from Dave Marshall in a similar car. The annual FTD championship went to James Blackmore driving a 1600cc OMS CF04, ahead of Dave Banner in an 1098cc OMS 2000M, whilst Amy Tomlin took the Ladies championship in her OMS CF96 race car. The 1400-2000cc race car class saw the second to sixth places split by just two tenths of a second, which illustrates how competitive this class really is. Another very competitive class was the 1100-1600cc race cars, where the third to eighth places were separated by just half a second. Andrew Henson's class win over Frazer Graham in the Formula Ford class was taken by less than one tenth of a second. Meanwhile, Les Procter grabbed first in class in his OMS sports car, turning the tables on Graham Smith's Van Diemen FX sports car which won the class the previous day. Fastest Times of the Day James Blackmore, OMS CF04, 53.25 Class wins Martin Jones, Ginetta G17, 64.57
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Greenwood Cup Meetings - September 15th 2007 |
At the Greenwood Cup meeting at Harewood Speed Hillclimb on Saturday 15 September, Airbus pilot and trainer James Blackmore secured the fastest time of the day (FTD) in his 1600cc OMS race car and in the process secured the FTD Championship. Second place went to Mark Hemmingway in the diminutive 1089cc Force race car, just three tenths of a second behind, whilst third spot went to Drew Dawson in a 1298cc DJ Firehawk race car. Meanwhile Karl Jackson consolidated his lead in the Cubicle Centre Championship with a class record in the over 2 litre road modified class in his incredibly powerful Mitsubishi EVO RS. Karl took a quarter of a second off his own class record which was set in June. David Morrison knocked nearly a second off the MG Group 2 class in his Midget. Whilst Dave Sturdy took a tenth of a second off the 400-2000cc Road Modified class record in the VW Polo he shared with Richard Vale, who was just over a tenth behind. Competition in this class was intense with only six tenths separating the top five drivers. In the up to 1700cc kit car class Henry Moorhouse took a class win on his first run, before bouncing heavily off the barriers at Willow on his second run and parking the car upside down. Henry's first run left him six tenths ahead of Bob Bellerby before his ill judged exuberant drive ended his day. Simon Green took a class win by one and a half seconds in the K T Green 2.3 litre Westfield, missing out on a class record by just two tenths of a second. Andrew Henson managed to rebuild his Formula Ford Swift just prior to the meeting after an altercation with the barrier at the last meeting and was rewarded with a class win, just half a second ahead of Frazer Graham in a Van Diemen. Graham Smith snatched victory in his Van Diemen sports car from Les Procter on the final run. Whilst Peter and David Newton were separated by just three tenths of a second in the Pilbeam they share. Fastest Times of the Day James Blackmore, OMS CF04, 53.24 Class wins Chris Butler, Ferrari F355, 66.58 |
Summer Championship Meeting |
Karl Jackson took the lead in the Cubicle Centre Harewood Hillclimb Championship in his Mitsubishi EVO on Sunday at the UK’s longest Hillclimb. As dropped scores came in to play in the championship, Jackson took the lead by less than a point from James Kerr in the Peugeot 205 GTi. Fastest time of the day went to Tony Luxton with a 54.63 second time on his final run of the day in the 2800cc Pilbeam Hart race car, just 3 one hundredths of a second ahead of Dave Banner’s 1098cc OMS. Stuart Bullas broke his own Austin Healey class record by just over a second. In fact all three of Bullas’ runs were below his previous record set last year. In the TVR class Tony Abrams took the V8 Tuscan to a class record time of 64.31 seconds, nearly 0.6 of a second below the previous class record. Like Bullas, all of Abrams runs were below the previous record which was set last year, as were the runs by second placed driver Howard Bryan in another Tuscan and Mathew Oakley in a Griffith. Richard Carroll shaved four one hundredths of a second off the class record in his modified 2 litre Westfield sports car. Terry Everall and David Spaull followed within 0.69 of Carroll’s time. In the pre-war Austin 7 class a two tenths gap was the result between Colin Danks and John Skeavington. In the smaller engine road modified class Steve Foster in the Peugeot 205 was chased hard by Martin Rowe’s Peugeot 106, with only two tenths splitting the pair at the end. In the up to 2 litre road modified class David Marshall was just eight one hundredths of a second behind class winner James Kerr, both in Peugeot 205 GTi’s. Karl Jackson’s run was just a shade off his own class record, but this was good enough for a win and a good championship score. The over 1700cc kit car class saw a clear win by Simon Green in the 2.3 litre Westfield, ahead of a fast improving Mike Tate who pushed class record holder John Hoyle in to third spot. The Formula Ford class is always competitive and at this meeting it was no exception, with just six tenths of a second separating the top three. Andrew Henson took the win on his first run in his Swift, although his day was marred by a heavy meeting with the safety barrier at Willow on his second run which put a premature end to his day. Second place in the class went to Frazer Graham, ahead of Mark Moran both in Van Diemen race cars. The under 1600cc race car class was another closely fought with four drivers separated by a second. Iain Davidson took the win in his OMS Hornet from Drew Dawson’s DJ Firehawk. Third and fourth places went to David Grey and Clive Lightburn sharing an OMS CF04 race car. Fastest Times of the Day Tony Luxton, Pilbeam MP58H, 54.63 Class winners John Weedon, Triumph TR5, 68.67 |
The only class record to go in the car classes on Sunday went to Andrew Griffiths in the Lotus 7 class, but the motorcycle classes saw 3 broken. Andrew Griffiths blitzed his own class record by over 2 seconds with runner up Simon Rodgers also inside the original mark. Harewood Championship leader James Kerr closed in on David Sykes’s record to win the small car class while Karl Jackson continued to climb the championship table with a convincing win in the unlimited class. David Spaull broke the 60 second barrier to win class B and C merged, from the now mod prod Westfield of Mike Tate. Vini Dobson dominated the 2 litre mod prods in the sinister black Golf. Battle re-commenced from July in class J, between James Blackmore and Robert Kenrick, with Blackmore coming out on top again, and Yorkshire Centre chairman Tim Wilson again 3rd. Jon Waggitts win in the big single seater class was never in doubt but in his wake David & Peter Newton continue to improve in the aged Pilbeam Cosworth. The motorcycle classes notched up 3 new class records, class B1 by Les Wilson in 67.13 seconds, Glyn Poole in class B3 who improved on his own record by 0.27 seconds, and Simon Blenkin and Paul Nelson, entertaining as ever in the sidecar classes, improved on their own record by 0.37
Fastest times of the day 1st Jon Waggitt, Gould GR 37, 52.29 Class wins Andrew Griffiths, Caterham, 59.11 (CR) |
Scott Moran won both rounds of the British Hillclimb Championship at Harewood on Sunday, ahead of the reigning champion Martin Groves, extending his championship lead to 13 points. Former British Champion Roger Moran, secured third spot in each round. The first round of the championship was played out on a virtually dry track after earlier rain in the first qualifying session. Scott posted a 50.25 second run in his 3.5 litre Gould race car, almost a second ahead of Martin Groves’ similar car, with father Roger Moran just another 0.3 seconds adrift. Fast charging Trevor Willis took a superb fourth place in his 2.6 litre OMS, just pipping Basil Pitt’s Gould in to fifth spot by one hundredth of a second. The second round of the championship saw the same drivers take the same top three places. This time both Scott Moran and Martin Groves made sub 50 second runs, with Scott showing his mastery of this challenging hill some 0.4 seconds clear of Groves with a 49.43 second run, just over two tenths off his own hill record. Four class records were broken at the meeting. OMS driver, James Blackmore slashed over sixth tenths of a second off the up to 1600cc race car class record, which was enough to get him in the second British Championship run off amongst the much more powerful contenders and in to the top 10 fastest times of the day. Whilst it is not uncommon for the smaller bike engined cars to mix it with the larger machines in the wet, it was an astonishing achievement in the dry. Brodie Branch showed that not only could he drive a Caterham very fast, but that he had also made a very successful transition to single seaters. Brodie knocked four tenths of a second off the class record set in 2003, in his 999cc Force race car. Ed Hollier took just under three tenths of a second off the class record he set last year in his OMS sports car, lowering the up to 2 litre record to 54.35 seconds. The fourth record fell to Paul Haimes’ Dallara when he shaved three hundredths of a second off the up to 2 litre race car class record on his final run. Fastest Times of the Day 1st Scott Moran, Gould GR61, 49.43 British Championship round 17 1st Scott Moran, Gould GR61, 50.25 British Championship round 18 1st Scott Moran, Gould GR61, 49.43 Class wins Eric Morrey, Clan Crusader, 67.40 ® denotes new class record |
Boroughbridge’s Bronwen Waggitt set the pace at the Harewood Speed Hillclimb Classic and Vintage Hillclimb on Saturday taking fastest time of the day in her Brabham BT30, whilst husband Jon took FTD at Sunday’s Jim Thomson hill climb in his 3.5 litre F1 powered Gould despite breaking second gear. At the classic event, Bronwen was only the second lady ever to secure an FTD at Harewood in its 45 years history. Bronwen drove the car to a 62.97 second run time over the 1448 meter course, ahead of second placed driver Dale Cordingley who was driving the Cubicle Centre 1970 Lotus 61M. Third spot was secured by Andrew Thorpe, owner of the Lotus and director of the Cubicle Centre. Del Liversidge pushed his Lotus Elan in to fourth spot just behind Andrew. Rob Cobden drove his Riley Sports Special to a class win over a second clear of Ian Baxter in the MG Bellevue Special. Graham Carr’s 1991cc GN/AC Special beat the 24 litre Rapier Bentley of Chris Williams in to second place in the class. The meeting looks set to become a regular feature in the Harewood calendar following good feedback from competitors and spectators alike. At the Jim Thomson meeting on Sunday, David Newton secured second fastest time of the day behind Jon Waggitt, with George Bleasdale just 0.18 of a second behind in third. A strong class of Porsche cars saw Colin Belton break his own class record by 0.21 of a second in his Porsche 993 RSR. Nick Taylor and Stephen Bassington were less than a second adrift in second and third place in their 996 and 924 respectively. Karl Jackson had been threatening to break the over 2000cc road modified saloons class for a number of meetings and he did so by 0.11 seconds in his fast Mitsubishi EVO. The 1400 to 2000cc road modified saloon class was as competitive as ever, with just 0.23 seconds separating the top three. The honours went to Richard Vale in his VW Polo G40, ahead of James Kerr in the Peugeot 205 and David Sykes in another 205. Competition in the under 1700cc kit car class was also intense with Bob Bellerby’s Sylva striker snatching victory on the second timed run by just 0.04 of a second ahead of Mike Smith’s similar car. Henry Moorhouse brought the Westfield in another 0.21 seconds adrift. Classic and Vintage meeting 2nd June Fastest times of the day 1st Bronwen Waggitt, Brabham BT30, 62.97 Class wins Graham Beckett, Austin 7 Ulster, 85.96 Jim Thomson trophy meeting 3rd June Fastest times of the day 1st Jon Waggitt, Gould GR 37, 53.26 Class wins Steve Foster, Peugeot 205, 68.89 |
Rain held off until the second competitive run at Sunday’s British Hillclimb Championship meeting at Harewood Speed Hillclimb near Leeds. Scott Moran took the fastest time of the day in the first run off in his 3.5 litre Gould race car with a brilliant 49.45 second run, just a quarter of a second off his hill record set last year. In the British Championship top 12 run offs reigning champion Martin Groves came out on top with a win and a second place. Championship leader Scott Moran took a win and a sixth spot after sliding in the wet second run off. The rain in the second run off proved a great leveler, with five of the top 12 qualifiers being from the smaller engine classes. Paul Haines produced probably the top drive of the day in the 2 litre Dallara to take third place, whilst Club chairman Tim Wilson filled the eight place in his 1500cc OMS and Harrogate’s James Blackmore took the ninth place spot in his 1600cc OMS. Ed Hollier set a new record in the 1400-2000cc sports libre class with his OMS sports car. In the 1100-1600cc race car class only a second separated the top three, with James Blackmore on cross ply tyres being just a third of a second away from the class record. James was closely pursued by Dave Kimberley in the Force and Tim Wilson. The 1400-2000c road car class was as competitive as ever, with Richard Vale taking the top spot in his VW Polo just a quarter of a second away from the record, whilst James Kerr was a mere 0.14 adrift in the Peugeot 205, with reigning Harewood Champion Dave Sykes in another Peugeot just 0.03 of a second behind. David Sturdy completed the top four with his Polo only three quarters of a second off the top spot. Mike Smith secure a class in his Ford powered Sylva Striker when he set a faster time on the first run from arch rival Bob Bellerby’s Peugeot powered Striker before the rains arrived. Mike had been looking for another class win for a while and judged things well. Another competitive class was the Formula Fords with the top four being separated by less than three quarters of a second. Frazer Graham took his Van Diemen to a win, followed by a Jonathan Rhodes who wrung the neck of the older Van Diemen. Andrew Henson and Mark Moran completed the top four. Fastest Times of the Day 1st Scott Moran Gould GR61X 49.45 1st Top 12 run off (British Championship round 7) 1st Scott Moran Gould GR61X 49.45 2nd Top 12 run off (British Championship round 8) 1st Martin Groves Gould GR55 63.85 Class wins Steve Foster Peugeot 205 68.95 |
In the run up to the Harewood Open Meeting on Saturday 12th May, the rain threatened to spoil the fun, but whilst it was windy, the rain held off until prize giving on the day. Competition was fierce in many of the classes and the wind gave a bit of extra push up the hill in places! Fastest time of the day went to Boroughbridge Sports and Specialist Car Company owner Jon Waggitt in his 3.5 litre 550 bhp Gould GR37 race car with a 53.34 second run. Second FTD went to the Harrogate pilot James Blackmore in his 1600cc OMS race car with a 54.59 second run, despite an earlier excursion caused by the wind in to the final corner, a fait also suffered by Chris Guille in his similar OMS. Third fastest time went to Salisbury driver Karl Davison, with a 54.67 second run in his 4 litre Gould GR37. Local driver JJ O’Malley from Pool in Wharfedale took the class win in the 27 strong Caterham Academy class, just 0.17 seconds off the class record and some 1.3 seconds clear of the second placed driver. In the 1400 - 2000cc saloon car class, only 0.14 seconds separated the top three drivers, all in Peugeot 205 GTi’s. Nottingham’s Dave Marshall held the lead from reigning Harewood champion Dave Sykes, who just nudged Arthington driver James Kerr in to third spot on the final run. The up to 1700cc kit car class was also closely fought, with Harrogate man Bob Bellerby taking his customary win in his Sylva Striker, just 0.09 seconds ahead of the similar car of Whitley Bay’s Mike Smith, who in turn was just 0.12 ahead of the fast improving Leeds driver Henry Moorhouse in the Westfield. In the over 1700cc kit car class Burley in Wharfedale driver Simon Green, in the potent K T Green Westfield, once again stamped his authority on the class, ahead of record holder John Hoyle in a similar machine. Ford WRC manager Phil Short from Ilkley, propelled his 1380cc Mini Cooper S in to top spot of the up to 2 litre merged Mod Prod class, beating off the challenge of Knaresborough’s Vini Dobson in the 2 litre Golf GTi by 0.22 of a second. In the Formula Ford class, Rochdale’s Andrew Henson stole the win by just 0.05 seconds on the final run in his Janum M89, from another Rochdale driver, Mark Moran, much to Andrew’s own surprise! Fastest Time of the Day 1st Jon Waggitt Gould GR37 53.34 Class wins Nick Frost Ferrari 348GTC 68.06
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Harewood speed Hillclimb featured in the BBC North programme Inside Out on on September 11th 2006 on BBC1 See the programme by following the link on this page Filming by the BBC started on Thursday 6th April at the Harewood Hillclimb Driving School for the first part of a feature for the BBC1 Inside Out programme. Presenter Nicola Rees used Mike Tate's powerful Westfield for the day's tuition. Nicola was preparing to enter her first competitive event in Mike's car on Sunday 14th May at the British Hillclimb Championship meeting. Nicola was one of 30 delegates at the school. Elements of filming took place during the cold and blustery day and were completed at the May meeting. Watch the programme to find out how fast Nicola went!
Mike Tate (left) discusses the initial on board camera positions with cameraman Phil
Nicola Rees on her first run in the 264 bhp Westfield
Nicola finds out how Ladies Hill Record holder Sarah Cordingley started to compete
Chief Instructor Simon Clark reviews Nicola's progress during the day whilst being filmed by Phil with producer Ian doing the sound
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