Hillclimb racing is making a return to Cape Town after a 63-year absence.
The thrilling motorsport is making a comeback this month, as Speed Classic Cape Town is set to host a new event on the 25th and 26th of October.
The new hillclimb event will take place over the weekend on Philip Kgosana Drive, where Table Mountain will serve as the backdrop for a 1.8km course that ascends 150m.
“Philip Kgosana Drive is an iconic and beautiful piece of road that is well-suited to becoming a very fast track due to its sweeping corners overlooked by Table Mountain. It also has a return road, which is needed to bring the cars back to the pits after their run,” said Garth Mackintosh, Speed Classic Cape Town Event Director.
“While there are lots of great roads in Cape Town, including the ones that used to host the hillclimbs, I don’t think there is anything better suited to this particular format of hillclimb racing than Philip Kgosana Drive.”
The event is backed by the City of Cape Town and Motorsport South Africa, and will feature nearly 150 of the nation’s most eye-catching cars.
“We are proud to support the Speed Classic Cape Town and as a city we love to host world class events. I believe this race has the potential to grow into a real mainstay event in Cape Town and become a prestigious occasion that will bring visitors from around the world and showcase our city globally,” said Geordin Hill-Lewis, Mayor of Cape Town.
Day One, or “Classic Car Saturday,” will showcase iconic models with timeless engineering from throughout history.
The second event, held on Sunday, 26 October, will feature modern supercars and high-performance models competing in what the organizers describe as the “King of the Mountain” showdown.
The organizers have procured the same barriers used in the 2023 Formula E race held in Cape Town, ensuring the safety of both the spectators and the drivers.
Cape Town’s traffic services will also collaborate with the event to ensure the roads are not significantly impacted by the weekend’s activities.
History of hillclimb events in Cape Town
Cape Town’s first hillclimb event was held all the way back in 1912, where drivers pushed their skills to the limit snaking their cars up and around Camps Bay Drive, Signal Hill Road, and Kloof Road.
The annual event saw a particularly exciting moment in 1936 when a Bugatti Type 59 completed the route in just 53 seconds.
While the event was paused during the Second World War, from 1941 to 1945, interest immediately returned in 1946 with the first post-war race along Camps Bay Drive.
The motorsport continued until 1962, when stricter regulations and increased traffic volumes meant it was no longer feasible to hold the hillclimb in such a popular area.
But while the event has been absent from Cape Town’s calendar for just over 60 years, motoring fans will finally be able to partake in the new hillclimb held on Philip Kgosana Drive later this month.
Speed Classic Cape Town
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