The 25th edition of the Eliyakanda Hill Climb 2021 which is set to be flagged off on February 27 and 28 is to be named as the SLTMobitel Speedup-Eliyakanda Hill Climb and was officially launched on Tuesday at the SLT Auditorium in Colombo.
SLT has been the main sponsor of the event for the last seven years and this is the eighth occasion they come as the main sponsor for this prestigious racing event which is considered the most looked forward to by all competitors in the country.
This year the Southern Motor Sports Club has decided to have the Hill Climb over two days for the first time due to the present Covid - 19 pandemic situation. On the first day only motor cycles will be held while the drivers are to run the Climb on day two.
All participants are to be present with a negative PCR report along with their two crew members. Due to the health restrictions only participants and their two member crew is allowed to be around the 675 meter climbing stretch following regulated distance rule.
Dilan Seneviratne in a Mitsubishi Evo 9 who set a new course record clocking 32.422 seconds in 2019 said that Eliyakanda is a well organized event by SMSC which also had the best course for a hill Climb.
The Course with four tricky corners challengers drivers and riders to show their skills in handling the machines in the proper manner. It is one of the most difficult courses when it comes to challenging others to be winners here. I was lucky be the winner in 2019 erasing the record held by my colleague Dinesh Jayawardene”, said Seneviratne.
The one time Champion rider Maduranga Caldera who competed for nine consecutive years also commended the organizers and said that it will be an example to be followed by other racing clubs to continue with racing in Sri Lanka.