Funday Times

The first motor sports event in Sri Lanka
Nuwara Eliya, is said to be the cradle of motor sports in Sri Lanka. The origins of motor sports in the country goes back over 70 years when the Mahagastota Hill Climb, was first held in Nuwara Eliya in 1934.

The Mahagastota Hill Climb, which takes place in the hill resort today (April 10), is one of the popular events of the season at Nuwara Eliya. It is believed to be the oldest hill climb in Asia.

In the 1930s, young European planters, who worked on the tea plantations of the area, often spent their Sundays in friendly competition, racing on their gravel estate roads. It was purely for the thrill of driving fast. Then at a gathering at the Grand Hotel in Nuwara Eliya in September 1934, these young planters inaugurated the Ceylon Motor Sports Club (CMSC). This was the first motor sports club to be established in the country. From the start, the CMSC welcomed Sri Lankans - Ceylonese as they were then known - as members, and encouraged them to participate.

The inaugural meet of the new club, the first speed hill climb was held at Mahagastota Estate, in 1934. This was the first organized motor sports event recorded in the country.

At this meet a young Ceylonese, engineer, T.S. Jinasena, was warmly welcomed as a competitor by the secretary of the club, Gorden Graham. Ten cars and two motor cycles competed at this meet. Although no prizes were offered, the competitors enjoyed a successful day of sport. The day’s fastest time for cars was 69.8 seconds by Phil Fowke in a Tourist Trophy Austin. T. Glen Dickson riding a Scott motorcycle clocked a timing of 64 seconds.

At the meet in 1939, T.S. Jinasena had a spectacular run that set a new course record of 55.75 seconds. He became the first Ceylonese to set a course record at Mahagastota. He achieved this in a super charged car he himself had assembled, using parts from other vehicles.

Since those early days, the competition has come a long way. About a hundred cars and motor cycles compete for trophies in varying categories, depending on the classification of the vehicles. The meet is held every April, when the hill resort of Nuwara Eliya is thronged with visitors. Racing drivers and riders from all over Sri Lanka, gather here, usually on the weekend before the Sinhala and Tamil New Year.

Today, modern cars of all sorts, including Formula cars, as well as motor bikes, race at great speed up the steep inclines of the Mahagastota Estate. The paddock on the hill is packed with racing cars and bikes. Back-up vehicles filled with spare tyres, tools and extra fuel are parked nearby. Mechanics are busy tuning and tinkering with the racing vehicles before the run. The hill swarms with drivers, riders, meet officials and spectators. The sound of revving engines fills the air.

With the modern, speedy, racing vehicles of today, the 617 metre track is completed in 35 - 45 seconds. The course the hill climb is run on has remained the same, although the track has become wider, and the gravel track now has a tarred surface. The vehicles line up at the start line for the various events. One by one they race up the hill from start to the finish line. Each run is timed by electronic devices, unlike in the early days when flag signals and simple stop watches were used. However, competitors and spectators seem to enjoy the same thrills of speed as the pioneers, who inaugurated motor sports in the country.

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