Knox Mountain revs up for race cars

KELOWNA — It’s the oldest running hill climb in Canada and it’s in the Okanagan.

The 58^th annual Knox Mountain climb will take place Saturday and Sunday. The event attracts top-notch drivers from across the country as well as Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.

Over 60 cars will climb 800 feet over a 2.2-mile stretch to claim the ‘King of the Hill’ title.

The event has a new entrant this year and it’s different from the rest. For the first time ever, an electric car will be vying for the title.

A group of UBC engineering students converted a 1984 Reynard Formula Ford car into something they say is worthy of a top 5 finish.

“We’re the first. It’s new and it’s interesting and we get to promote electric cars as a viable option to gasoline racing. Hopefully we’d like to post some good times. I’d like to see top 5 but I think top 25 per cent is more reasonable,” says Chris Green, Co-captain of the UBC racing team.

The team knows they have their work cut out for them but they believe they have an advantage.

“ Torque. We have a lot of torque, which is really useful on a hill. It means we can accelerate faster especially on corners and off launch,” adds Green.

Green and the rest of the racers will have to wait to see who will be crowned King of the Hill.  The final heat of the race will take place tomorrow.