Apart from all the racing activity that will be taking place at the Knysna Hillclimb, CAR will host a new form of concours event during the weekend’s proceedings. To be known as the CAR Concours des Automobiles Sportives, entries will be 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. Invitations will be sent out next week and a small but select entry is assured. As a bonus, all spectators will have a free opportunity to vote for their favourite model on show and, time permitting, on the Sunday the winning voter will be driven up the hill in his/her chosen car.

The 2010 Knysna Hillclimb will be held at the Simola Golf and Country Estate in the picturesque Garden Route town on October 22-24, and the entry list is already over-subscribed with well over 100 vehicles wanting to take part. Last year’s inaugural event attracted a bumper attendance who were treated to two days of exciting action culminating in the winner only being established with the final run up the hill. Faster times from a more varied entry is guaranteed for this year’s running of what promises to become one of the country’s premier motorsport happenings. 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.

Amongst the competitors who have entered are John Amm’s Rotax 250 kart and Charles Arton’s V8 Masters Car (the likes of which won last year’s climb), Dave Alexander’s Riley Ulster Imp and Stuart Lottering’s Superformance Cobra, Gino Noli’s DKW F-7 cabrio and Dawie Joubert’s Ariel Atom, Franco Scribante’s Ferrari 430 and Sean Mackay’s Porsche 996 GT3 RS, and Chris Carolin’s raucous Mazda Rotary.

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.

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 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text60947 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //--> This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or logging-on to www.speedfestival.co.za Entries close 1st October.