Dezzi Raceway Invitational To Takeover Where Knysna Hill Climb Left Off

Petrolheads and hillclimb aficionados have reason to rejoice once again. After the unexpected cancellation of the 2013 Knysna Hill Climb, due to Renault’s title sponsorship withdrawal, South Africa’s fastest cars and drivers now have the opportunity to converge at an all-new venue for an all-new motorsport event.

The inaugural Dezzi Raceway Invitational Challenge will take place on 18 and 19 May 2013 in Port Shepstone, Kwa-Zulu Natal and it is an event created as an independent replacement for the 2013 Knysna Hillclimb.

The event is the brainchild of racer and hillclimb veteran, Dez Gutzeit, who built the KZN racing facility originally for his own personal enjoyment, but now hopes the Dezzi Invitational has the potential to become an annual spectacle and a huge attraction on the South African motorsport calendar.

The 2.9 km track is based on a runway and features numerous technical corners. It has been built to FIA standards and boasts a full pit complex, club house and safe spectator viewing points. The Dezzi Invitational will see competitors compete head-to-head in a flying start and time attack scenario.

Together with support from other Hillclimb favourites, like Wilhelm Baard of Global GT-R in Hatfield, Gutzeit hopes to appeal to the high concentration of racing fans in KZN who have had no marquee race facility at their disposal in the province. In this way, Gutzeit hopes the event will help to spark the opportunity for motorsport growth in the region.

Baard, who won the Knysna Hillclimb in 2011, says he was pleasantly surprised by the track and has high hopes for the inaugural Dezzi Invitational Challenge. “Not only has Dez created a fantastic new location for motorsport in South Africa and Kwa-Zulu Natal specifically, but the concept is a brilliant idea for all parties involved,” said Baard.

“We decided to run the event at the same time as what the 2013 Knysna Hillclimb would have taken place as the competitors had already prepared their cars for Knysna and had already made plans to travel and take off work in most cases. Motorsport is well known as being an expensive hobby to undertake and this way our friends and rivals are still able to exploit their hard work and well-prepared machines in an all-new and very exciting environment,” Baard added.

Dez Gutzeit, whose son Jade won the Knysna Hillclimb in 2012, comments: “Running on an invitational basis at first, we have selected the top 25 cars and drivers in the country, largely pooled from the Knysna Hillclimb fraternity, to battle it out on the track at a professional and safe racing event,” Gutzeit said.

Gutzeit also believes that the new track will even the playing fields for competitors, where the Knysna Hillclimb tended to mostly favour high-powered, all-wheel drive machines like the Nissan GT-Rs and Mitsubishi Evos, thanks to high speed twisting sections that favoured superior grip levels. The new event could favour more lower-slung bona fide race cars which previously couldn’t compete on the rough and uneven surface in Knysna.

“We wanted to do something great for South African motorsport and the Dezzi Raceway Invitational Challenge is sure to create a stir. It will be the quintessential petrolhead event of 2013 and we hope it goes on to become an annual highlight going forward. The Challenge has very humble beginnings with massive potential,” concludes Gutzeit.

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