News in from the organisers of the annual Knysna Hillclimb is that the 2013 installment, due to run from 17-19 May, has been cancelled. All other events in the Speed Festival have also been cancelled with the exception of the Knysna Motor Show, which is a stand-alone event and will be held on 4 May.
Ian Shrosbree, one of the event organisers, confirmed the event’s cancellation with CAR yesterday afternoon. Shrosbree commented: “The event, which grew tremendously in the four years that it was run and had become one of South Africa’s premier motorsport events, has been unable to secure a title sponsor.”
“We tried our best, but unfortunately most of the companies that were interested had already committed their budgets to other marketing initiatives. As the event has grown so much in recent years, and the cars have become faster, we could not compromise on competitor or spectator safety and infrastructure, hence we had to make the hard decision to cancel the event.”
The hillclimb organisers are hoping to revive the event in 2014.