The Gydo “King of the Mountain” hill-climb, also known as KOTM to its followers, is truly a unique motor sport event held annually along the Gydo pass in the majestic Ceres Valley.

Following the success of King of the Mountain 2006’s event, this year’s race is taking place from 16-18 November and promises to be a highlight in the 2007 motor sporting calendar in South Africa with a total of 70 drivers taking part and thousands of spectators to attend.

This is South Africa’s only premier hill-climb rally event featuring some of the country’s most exotic and powerful motor vehicles tackling the 6.5 km Gydo Mountain pass with its 27 torturous turns and sheer plunges, thrilling thousands of horsepower hungry spectators.

Drivers and vehicles are up against the clock as they accelerate madly up the mountain pass, negotiating its hairpin bends whilst trying to keep traction at all time, which makes it far more challenging than a race circuit. It is for this reason that hill-climbing is one of the most entertaining forms of motor sport world-wide.

Dawie Olivier once again took the King of the Mountain title in 2006 when he and the HOPS Subaru 2.5R team rewrote KOTM history by taking an impressive third consecutive King of the Hill title and the outright King of the Mountain title.

Each driver has three timed runs up the mountain. The driver with the fastest timed run in the Road & Rally race on Saturday secures The King of the Hill title, while the driver with the fastest timed run in Sunday’s Sports & Exotic category will receive the King of the Mountain title.

A highlight was their 194km/h recorded top speed, which far outstripped the recommended 70km/h regulated traffic speed.

KOTM is also dedicated to giving back to the community and as part of their social awareness policy contributed R50 000 to the Ceres Youth Forum in 2006. Says organizer, Ian Wilder: “KOTM is a community driven event as we ask the assistance and support of the surrounding community with various event logistics.

For example, the local FD Conradie Primary School assists us in arranging all the buses to take spectators to the various spectator points, as it is a rather large job to transport approximately 8 000 spectators to the various points in only four hours. We also utilize various community clubs, including the Lions Club & the Round Table, who assist in providing spectators with delicious food and beverage stalls.

KOTM enjoys the full support of the Ceres municipal departments and contributes to the region’s economy and growth by ensuring a large influx of visitors over the weekend, with accommodation and restaurants usually fully booked.

Tickets cost R100 per normal day pass, or R 500 per VIP day pass which will give you VIP access. Tickets are available at Computicket nationwide.