The Motorsport Australia South Australian Hill Climb Championship takes place this weekend with more than 100 competitors from around the state to battle for state honours.
Held at the iconic Collingrove Hill Climb course, the 107 competitors will get between 10 to 12 attempts at posting the fastest time for their respective classes and the outright championship.
Following on from the outright competition, the event will end with a special top 12 shootout on Sunday afternoon as the fastest drivers give themselves one more opportunity for victory.
While the number of competitors is back to three digits after a slight drop last year, there will be plenty of battles over the course of the weekend with some of the usual big names not in attendance.
Unsurprisingly, heading into the event as favourite is the reigning champion and one of the country’s top drivers in David Mahon.
Mahon has been in irresistible form this year, having won almost every state event he has entered. Add the fact that the 60-year-old dominated last year, winning the event on his first attempt – it would be difficult to look past him again.
Standing in his way are the usual names of Allan and Derek Foster, both also running Formula Libres, and Nissan Skyline GTR driver Nathan Green who finished second in last year’s shootout.
With conditions looking picture perfect for both days, Sporting Car Club of SA’s Melissa Rees was expecting a big weekend of action.
“To have over 100 entries and glorious weather is just wonderful– there is certainly a lot to look forward to this weekend,” Rees said.
“Obviously David (Mahon) is the favourite, but the beauty about hill climbs is that anything can happen and you just need one real good run to be in with a chance.
“It’s pleasing to see so many people making the journey for this event. Even having a strong representation from Mount Gambier and the South Eastern Automobile Club is just fantastic.
“We don’t usually get these sort of numbers for our events throughout the year and we weren’t sure how we would go, but it shows people like showing up for the big events, so I am expecting quite the spectacle to take place.”
The 2021 Motorsport Australia South Australian Hill Climb Championship takes place at Collingrove Hill climb on 11-12 September.