Mahagastota Hill Climb to rock the hills

S.M. Jiffrey ABDEEN in Mahagastota

A three cornered fight for supremacy between joint course record holders maestro Rohan de Silva (Modified Formula) Nishan Weerasooriya (Mitsubishi Evolution) and Arvinda Premadasa (Mitsubishi Lancer) at the Annual Mahagastota Speed Hill Climb organised by the Ceylon Motor Sports Club which will be celebrating its 75th Anniversary and will be worked off at the Mahagastota Estate track this Sunday - April 12 commencing at 8 a.m.

The weather up in the hills is surprisingly bright and sunny with very little or no rain being experienced which is very good news for the motor racing fans.

This will be the last year in which Modified Formula cars will be permitted to run in motor racing events and it will be a do or die situation for maestro Rohan de Silva to better his own overall course record of 35.57 seconds which he jointly holds with Nishan Weerasooriya who drove his Mitsubishi Evolution with vengeance last year to time 35.573 seconds. With Arvinda Premadasa also joining the fray in his Mitsubishi Lancer, a gruelling battle is in store between this trio and it will be left to be seen whether the Course record will be lowered in this historic year of 75th Anniversary Celebrations.

Shafraz Junaid holds the course record for motorcycles with a timing of 37.66 seconds which he registered a few years back.

This hill climb holds the proud record of being the oldest hill climb in Asia. An event which was started for fun by the young European Planters in 1934 has grown to be a giant among the motor racing clubs with FIA affiliation with the formation of the Ceylon Motor Sports Club on 4th September 1934.

The Jinasena have become an integral part of the club from the early days by being regular participants at meets and also playing a major role in the administration of the club and its activities. During the 75th year of its existence it has stood the test of time and it has also retained its original name despite an attempt by a few members to change its name to Sri Lanka Motor Sports in keeping with the times.

A total of 23 events will be worked off 9 in the motor cycle category and 14 in the motor cars category. This may be the last time the Modified Formula cars will be running in the April hill climb as the controlling body SLAS will do away with Modified Formula cars at competitions from this year. Standard formula cars will continue to remain. With a large number of machines participating, exciting motor racing is in store for the motor racing fans who will flock to the hills during the April Holiday season.