When we reported on the Knysna Motor Show earlier this year, we thought the next time we’d be hearing news from the little town would be for their motor show in 2010. Well thankfully we were wrong, because from 30 October to 1 November, Knysna will be hosting their first motoring hill climb event, The Knysna Hillclimb.

The Knysna Hillclimb was due to be a one-day event, however, the local classic car club wanted to combine the event with a car show. Consequently the event is now being run over two days and will include not only modern cars in the hill climb challenge, but classic cars will be in the running too.

The competition will take place on a 1.85 km section of road winding up to the acclaimed Simola Estate and Golf Course. Entries include some exotic machinery such as a 1939 Lagonda Le Mans racer, Ford GT40′s, Chevron B19, Lotus 23, Jaguar E-Type, Lotus 7′s, and a variety of Ferraris and Porsches.

The hill climb weekend will officially kick off on Friday 30 October with a public viewing of the cars at the Premier Hotel Knysna / The Moorings Resort for the afternoon.

The competition itself will be held on Saturday and Sunday, with practice and qualifying taking place each morning, before the finals on Sunday afternoon. Track activity will be from 10am – 4pm on Saturday and 10am – 2:45pm on Sunday.

Entires are limited to 75 cars, which will be grouped in four classes competing for the top honours as follows.

• Classic cars (1600cc; 1600 – 2000cc; 2000cc +)
• Road cars (4, 6 and 8+ cylinders)
• Race cars (Up to 1600cc, 1601 – 2000 cc, 2001 – 4000cc, 4001cc +)
• Forced-induction cars (Up to 1600cc, 1601 – 2000cc, 2001cc +)

The event has been sanctioned by Motorsport South Africa (MSA), the Knysna Municipality and Traffic Department and, in the interest of safety, marshals and medical services will be on duty throughout. Spectators will have easy access to the event allowing them to come and go throughout the day. Designated spectator areas along the course should provide a great view of the action from the embankments lining the road. Entry to the hill climb is R20 per adult and R10 for children, with all profits going to local charities.

We don’t need a second invitation to take a long weekend! If you’d like to become involved or find out more information, you should send an email to Ian – ian[at]gopp[dot]biz.

By the way, if you’ve read this far and aren’t sure what a hill climb is – we admire your level of focus – but to give you an idea, take a look at this video from the infamous Pikes Peak Internationl Hill Climb.

UPDATE
The organisers have just sent us a video preview of the course. Watch in-car footage from an Audi S5 coupe and a Lotus 7 – which sounds like it’s got a Suzuki Hayabusa motor under the hood.