INDEPENDENT NEWS

Massive Entry For Kaitangata Hillclimb

Published: Thu 2 Oct 2008 10:08 AM
MEDIA RELEASE
1 OCTOBER 2008
Massive Entry For Kaitangata Hillclimb
A fantastic entry of fifty-eight competitors has been received to date for next Saturday's (11 October) Kaitangata Promotions Bob Scott Memorial Hillclimb at Whites Road, City Forests in Kaitangata. While more entries are still expected the numbers for this year's event already exceed the forty-five received last year when the hillclimb returned after a thirty year absence.
Last year Gore driver Andrew Graves won the event in a time of 55.657 seconds after a tight battle with local driver Duncan McCrostie. Outram driver Glenn Frew was third, all three leading drivers competing in Mitsubishi EVO's.
This year's event promises another huge battle with a quality line-up and a number of potential winners. Graves, McCrostie and Frew all return with Frew fresh from a fourth place overall and a class victory at the recent high-profile Ashley Forest Rallysprint in Canterbury. Also sure to be in the hunt are the current Laird Motorsport Southern Rally Series Champion Paul Cross of Gore who will share his Mitsubishi EVO 4 with Craig Abernethy throughout the day. Both will be competitive as will two others who are armed with potent EVO's, Dunedin's Brian Scott and Gus Osborne of Gore. Scott is a son of the man the hillclimb remembers - Bob Scott, a successful motorsport competitor and businessman as well as a former Mayor of Kaitangata. Another son, Robert Scott will compete in Bob Scott's famous Scott Special as well as another car, the CAE Special.
Mosgiel driver Chris Hey is offering a member of the public a fantastic opportunity to win a ride up the 1.2 kilometre gravel hillclimb course on the day of the event. Those keen to win this great ride need only put their name in a draw at Balclutha Motors, corner of Elizabeth and James Street in Balclutha. One lucky person's name will be drawn to receive a ride up the hill with Hey on 11 October in his ultra quick Nissan SR20 turbo-powered Toyota MR2. The car was the fastest two-wheel-drive car up the hill last year in a time of 59.921 seconds and was also not only a class winner at Ashley Forest recently but once again the fastest two-wheel-drive car at that event.
The Kaitangata Promotions Bob Scott Memorial Hillclimb is a joint promotion between the Kaitangata Promotions Group and the Eastern Southland Car Club. Scrutineering will take place from 9.00am with the first run expected at 11.30am. The event is also the first leg of the Southern Twin Peaks Challenge which offers a $500 prize to the competitor with the fastest elapsed time from their fastest run at this event plus at the Bay View Hotel Pub Charity Bluff "where the journey begins" Sealed Hillclimb on Bluff Hill on Saturday 7 March next year.
Competitors will receive four official runs throughout the day with the fastest counting towards a drivers overall placing in the event. There will be five classes with 2-wheel-drive classes for 0-1300cc, 1301cc -1600cc and 1601cc and over. There is also a class for 4-wheel-drive cars and a sports and racing car category.
Kaitangata lies 67 kilometres south-east of Dunedin and 10 kilometres south-east of Balclutha on the banks of the Clutha River. Known to the locals as Kai, the township was first settled in 1853 and today has a population of 810. Coal mining was a mainstay of the town's economy from the 1870's until 1972 when the last State-owned underground coalmine closed. However one open cast mine still operates, the Kai Point Coal Co Limited which supplies coal to two of the main industries in South Otago - Fonterra Stirling and PPCS Finegand.
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