This is what it's like to go pedal to the metal up Knox Mountain

It's been all roaring engines and raucous cheers at the Knox Mountain Hill Climb autocross event.

Among the many drivers setting the stretch of asphalt alight on the opening day Saturday was Garrett Mealing, who had just returned from another run up the hill in his kitted out 1995 Eagle Talon, reaching speeds of around 180 kmh.

“Mid 2000s I started auto crossing, and then probably around 2013, 2014, I started doing track days and stuff like that,” Mealing told Kelowna10. “And then I did my first Hillclimb here in 2015.”

He said the biggest challenge on this winding layout is it’s traction isn’t as good as other professionally maintained tracks, but an event like this is still a thrill for him.

“The thing with autocross is, it's a really great grassroots motorsport, right?” he explained. “You don't have to have a big track; the cost of entry is a lot lower. So that's a good place to start, right?”

Several different classes of vehicles are competing to make the best time in their group, from vintage vehicles to heavily modified kit cars.

Mealing was part of the GTM class, driving a car with a custom aerodynamics kit to increase downforce, and a total of 600 horsepower. But to compete in autocross, you don’t necessarily have to have a vehicle of this caliber.

“You can kind of just show up with what you drive every day if you want to just get going at it,” Mealing said.

Spectators were in awe of the power of the vehicles racing past them, cheers erupted as each vehicle tore up the hill reaching speeds of up to 180 km/h, blazing to the summit where they were met with even more ecstatic fans. Some of the racers broke the two-minute mark for winding their way up the circuit.

“People up top are only 10, 20 feet from the track in some places. So you're real up close and personal with the cars,” he said. “It’s pretty neat.”

Another full day of racing is set for Sunday. The schedule can be found on their website here.