Knox Mountain Hillclimb
Updated: 12/20/2025, 2:56:58 PM Wikipedia source
The Knox Mountain Hillclimb is an annual automobile hillclimb in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. Established in 1956 as the Okanagan Hillclimb and operating on a paved course in Kelowna's Knox Mountain Park since 1966, it is among the longest-running annual hillclimbs in North America and the only sanctioned hillclimb in Canada. The 3.5-kilometre (2.2 mi) course is known for its difficulty, with every corner cambered to the outside of the curve as it climbs 245 metres (800 ft) for an average grade of 6.7%. The hillclimb takes place in May, on the Saturday and Sunday before Victoria Day. It is organized by Knox Mountain Motor Sport (KMMS), an affiliate of the Confederation of Autosport Car Clubs (CACC), the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) sanctioning authority for British Columbia. The course record is 1:34.903 set by Aran Cook in 2023.
Infobox
Tables
| Edition | Year | Location | King of the Hill | Ref | |
| Driver | Car | ||||
| 1 | 1956 | Crescent Hill Road, Penticton | Denny Crees | Triumph | |
| 2 | 1957 | Westbank | Tom Luce | Corvette | |
| 3 | 1958 | Tom Luce | Corvette | ||
| 4 | 1959 | Tom Luce | Corvette | ||
| 5 | 1960 | Bob Symonds | Porsche 1600cc | ||
| – | 1961 | Cancelled due to road construction | |||
| 6 | 1962 | Camp Road, Okanagan Centre | Bert Gibb | Austin Healey 3000 MkII | |
| 7 | 1963 | Terry Hearnden | XK 150S Jaguar | ||
| 8 | 1964 | Bob McLean | Cooper Formula Junior | ||
| 9 | 1965 | Laurie Craig | Corvette | ||
| 10 | 1966 | Knox Mountain Drive (3.4 km), Kelowna | Dave Ogilvy | Cooper Formula Junior | |
| Edition | Year | King of the Hill | Ref | ||
| Driver | Car | Time | |||
| 10 | 1967 | Dave Ogilvy | Cooper Formula Junior | 2:08.150 | |
| 11 | 1968 | John Randall | Brabham BT8 | 2:03.789 | |
| 12 | 1969 | Ray Smith | Brabham BT16 | 1:59.029 | |
| 13 | 1970 | John Randall | Brabham BT8 | 1:59.986 | |
| 14 | 1971 | John Hall | Ford Mustang | 2:01.029 | |
| 15 | 1972 | Jerry Olsen | McLaren | 1:59.815 | |
| 16 | 1973 | Dave Morris | Formula Ford | 1:59.268 | |
| 17 | 1974 | Bryan Evans | Formula Ford | 1:59.600 | |
| 18 | 1975 | David Saville-Peck | Costello Leyland | 1:54.899 | |
| 19 | 1976 | Doug Lorraine | Formula Ford | 2:00.404 | |
| 20 | 1977 | Bryan Evans | Johnson JM 2b | 1:55.768 | |
| 21 | 1978 | Bryan Evans | Johnson JM 2b | 1:52.344 | |
| 22 | 1979 | Rob McGregor | Chevron Spyder | 1:53.651 | |
| 23 | 1980 | Bryan Evans | Johnson JM 3b | 1:50.002 | |
| 24 | 1981 | John Haftner | Dunebuggy | 1:58.040 | |
| 25 | 1982 | Keith Gray | March Super V | 1:51.729 | |
| 26 | 1983 | Ian Wood | March 73 S | 1:55.668 | |
| 27 | 1984 | Ian Wood | March 73 S | 1:57.644 | |
| 28 | 1985 | Floyd Schrammick | Lotus FF | 1:52.182 | |
| 29 | 1986 | Ian Wood | March 73 S | 1:55.996 | |
| 30 | 1987 | Tom Meyers | Chevron B 27 | 1:55.280 | |
| 31 | 1988 | Michael Elliott | Zink | 1:52.986 | |
| 32 | 1989 | John Haftner | Tui Super V | 1:48.624 | |
| 33 | 1990 | John Haftner | Tui Super V | 1:46.893 | |
| 34 | 1991 | Richard Chong | Lotus MR7 | 1:54.947 | |
| 35 | 1992 | Greg Mandrusiak | Ralt RT4 | 1:50.105 | |
| 36 | 1993 | Greg Mandrusiak | Ralt RT4 | 1:49.997 | |
| 37 | 1994 | John Haftner | Tui Super V | 1:41.182 | |
| 38 | 1995 | John Haftner | Tui Super V | 1:38.969 | |
| 39 | 1996 | Lawrie Watters | Dulon DL9 | 1:56.182 | |
| 40 | 1997 | John Haftner | Tui Super V | 1:39.971 | |
| 41 | 1998 | Kenny Richins | Griffin Super V | 1:51.336 | |
| 42 | 1999 | Kenny Richins | Griffin Super V | 1:52.437 | |
| 43 | 2000 | Richard Chong | Mondail | 1:56.484 | |
| 44 | 2001 | Allen Reid | MGB GT | 1:54.312 | |
| 45 | 2002 | John Haftner | Tui Super V | 1:41.248 | |
| 46 | 2003 | Allen Reid | 68 MGB GT V8 | 1:52.349 | |
| 47 | 2004 | John Haftner | Tui Super V | 1:41.612 | |
| 48 | 2005 | John Haftner | Tui Super V | 1:39.992 | |
| 49 | 2006 | John Haftner | Tui Super V | 1:41.972 | |
| 50 | 2007 | John Haftner | 1973 Tui Super V | 1:37.065 | |
| 51 | 2008 | Ian Wood | Rawlson CR11 Can-Am | 1:48.570 | |
| 52 | 2009 | Allen Reid | MGB GT | 1:52.616 | |
| 53 | 2010 | Allen Reid | MGB GT | 1:56.016 | |
| 54 | 2011 | George Bowland | custom FA | 1:42.888 | |
| 55 | 2012 | John Haftner | 1:41.694 | ||
| 56 | 2013 | Josh Vanderkerklova | Tube-framed Rabbit | 1:54.661 | |
| 57 | 2014 | Yarko Petriw | Formula Ford | 1:51.710 | |
| Driver | Fastest Run | AdditionalYearsUnder 1:50 | Ref | ||
| Car | Time | Year | |||
| Aran Cook | Arco X10 | 1:34.903 | 2023 | 1 | |
| John Haftner | 1973 Tui Super V | 1:37.065 | 2007 | 7 | |
| Mark Uhlmann | Stohr WF1 | 1:39.989 | 2022 | ||
| George Bowland | custom | 1:42.888 | 2011 | ||
| Joe Cheng | FA-class Phantom Special | 1:43.834 | 2002 | ||
| Bobby Unser | Ralt RT4 | 1:44.656 | 1994 | ||
| Greg Mandrusiak | Ralt RT4 | 1:45.610 | 1994 | 2 | |
| Trevor Yip | Tesla Cobra EV | 1:46.121 | 2025 | ||
| Darren Graham | Nissan GTR 2009 | 1:46.560 | 2024 | 1 | |
| Wouter Bouman | Mazda RX7 | 1:47.214 | 2019 | 3 | |
| Andre Marziali | BMW M3 | 1:48.316 | 2019 | 1 | |
| Ian Wood | 1972 Rawlson CR11 Can-Am | 1:48.570 | 2008 | 1 | |
| Carl Marcum | Mitsubishi Lancer | 1:48.665 | 2025 | ||
| Roger Sieber | Havaboostacar Roadster | 1:49.096 | 2024 | 2 | |
| Allen Reid | MGB GT | 1:49.704 | 2004 | ||
| Kees Nierop | Reynard Formula Ford 2000 | 1:49.989 | 2002 | ||
References
- Knox Mountain Drive is sometimes referred to as Knox Mountain Parkway, Knox Mountain Park Road or simply Knox Mountain R
- The Mount Equinox Hillclimb is the second-oldest hillclimb in the United States (after Pikes Peak). It was first raced i
- Knox Mountain Drive was closed to automobiles for COVID-19 social distancing measures, to allow hikers and bicyclists to
- The K-Town Classic was the only BC Cup competition outside of the Lower Mainland. Its following stages were the Winfield
- Some sources note the Okanagan Centre event being held in the larger adjacent community of Winfield or the municipality
- While sometimes referred to as the Knox Mountain Motorsport Society, KMMS was incorporated as Knox Mountain Motor Sport
- Lake ice must be a minimum of 30 cm (12 in) thick for racing.
- Half of the drivers who have finished the Knox Mountain course in less than 1:50 have done so in multiple editions of th
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- Kelowna Capital Newshttps://www.proquest.com/docview/1265598590
- "2012 Knox Mountain Hill Climb – Official Data"https://www.knoxmtnhillclimb.ca/sites/default/files/2012results_class_0.pdf
- "Knox 2013 Hillclimb – Event Ranking"https://www.knoxmtnhillclimb.ca/sites/default/files/2013results_overall.pdf
- "Knox 2014 Hillclimb – Event Ranking"https://www.knoxmtnhillclimb.ca/sites/default/files/2014results_overall.pdf
- "Knox 2015 Hillclimb – Event Ranking"https://www.knoxmtnhillclimb.ca/sites/default/files/2015results_overall.pdf
- "Knox 2016 Hillclimb – Overall Ranking"https://www.knoxmtnhillclimb.ca/sites/default/files/2016results_overall.pdf
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