Wood wins Hillclimb in his Rawlson CR11 Can-Am

Ian Wood revisited past glories at the Knox Mountain Hillclimb.

The Vancouver driver won the 2008 King of the Hill honours last weekend by guiding his Rawlson CR11 Can-Am up the 3.5-km course in a time of 1 minute 48.57 seconds.

Wood has won the annual event several times since first competing in the Hillclimb in 1972.

Not far behind Wood was local driver and race organizer Allen Reid who steered his 1968 MGB GT V8 to the top of Knox in 1:51.387.

Reid also won the GTO class.

"I wasn't as fast as I wanted to be, I couldn't quite get the car to handle the way I wanted," said Reid. "But second isn't too bad. It was a good weekend."

More than 80 drivers from B.C., Alberta, and Washington made the trip to Kelowna for the 51st edition of the Hillclimb.

Reid said 27 personal bests were set by drivers as the two-day event, by and large, went off without a hitch.

"Everything ran pretty smooth, it was well organized, and I think people enjoyed themselves," said Reid.

Organizers made a few additions to this year's course to try and make the race more fan friendly, including the installation of timer-display boards at the top and bottom.

Reid expects more boards to be added next year as well as radar trap speed detectors.

Hillclimb volunteers will also purchase and plant 2,700 new trees on Knox Mountain later this year as part of the local group's effort to be environmentally-friendly.