September 1 was not only the official first day of Spring, but marked the entry list for the second annual Knysna Hillclimb reaching the 100 mark… To be held at the Simola Golf and Country Estate in the picturesque Garden Route town on October 22-24, the list is already well overdrawn with yet another month to go before the deadline! The first-ever event held last year attracted more spectators than anticipated who were rewarded with some fast and furious action right down to the final run of the competition. This year promises to be even more exciting.
The weekend event will be run over three days and vehicles from all around the country will be taking part, consisting of modern, classic and historic sports- and racing cars as well as karts, all divided into relevant categories and with the final field limited to some 90 machines, the quality of the entry is guaranteed to be exceptional.
To whet your appetites, amongst those sure to take part are last year’s runner-up Anton Cronje with his 380 kW Subaru Impreza, Thouca Mechanicos’ AMG Mercedes (said to be the most powerful Mercedes in the country), Peter Henkel giving a KTM X-Bow its first competitive SA outing, Nissan’s own GTR exponent Wilhelm Baard at the wheel of a hot R35 version, and a very, very special Porsche… Amongst the star drivers taking part will be BMW men Robbie Smith and Geoff Goddard in 325iSs, multi-make man Geoff Mortimer at the wheel of a Mitsubishi Evo9, and veteran Dave Kopke in his amazing Mazda R100. And there is more to come…
Preceding the hillclimb, the Mayor’s Golf Day will take place at Simola on the Thursday, with proceeds going to charity. Then, together with the first two runs for the Historic category, pre-qualifying runs for new entries will take place on the Friday, the best of which will join the guaranteed entries to make up a field of 75 vehicles for the Saturday and Sunday sessions that will determine the 2010 King of the Hill title. Adding to the speed-weekend’s atmosphere, the guaranteed entries will drive through the centre of Knysna between 13h00 and 14h00 on the Friday, followed by a public viewing of the vehicles at the Knysna Yacht Club in the Waterfront from 14h00 to 16h00, with a welcome cocktail function taking place at the Simola resort in the evening. Track activity on the Saturday and Sunday starts at 09h00 and closes at 16h30.
While all this activity is taking place, the hillclimb’s new title sponsor Renault will be launching a new hot hatch in the Knysna area, with a 36-car media challenge ‘up the hill’ scheduled to take place during the weekend’s activity. Close to the main spectator area there will be a Gasoline Alley where general motoring-related merchandise will be on sale. Another new element to the event will be a Marque Paddock with numerous displays of vehicle on show. Owners of eligible machines will be granted free access to the grounds providing their cars are parked in the designated area for public viewing.
In addition, CAR will host an entirely new style of concours event, the CAR Concours des Automobiles Sportives, with entries open to vehicles of any age that have a sporting and/or racing association, anything from a road-going sportscar to an ex-F1 car. All spectators will have a free opportunity to vote for their favourite model on show. Further information will be given in future updates.
With the approval of the Knysna Municipality, Traffic Department and Tourism Office, the 2010 Knysna Hillclimb will be held under the auspices of the Algoa Kart Club with racing supervised and entries accepted at the discretion of the organising committee. Full marshal control and medical facilities will on hand. Proceeds of the event will be donated to local charities. Information, supplementary regulations and entry forms can be obtained by emailing [email protected] or logging-on to www.speedfestival.co.za Entries close 1st October.
Check out the 2010 Knysna Hillclimb updates every Wednesday on carmag.co.za
