Entries for next weekend's Bob Scott Memorial Hillclimb motorsport event have already surpassed those received for last year's event, which was revived after a 30-year absence.
The Kaitangata race has attracted 58 entries to date compared to the 45 received in total last year.
More entries are expected before the event is staged at Whites Rd on City Forests land near Kaitangata next Saturday.
Bob Scott was a former Mayor of Kaitangata and prominent in national motorsport circles.
The event's publicity officer, Lindsay Beer, said the 2008 event promised to be another huge battle, with a quality line-up and a number of potential winners.
Last year, Gore driver Andrew Graves won in a time of 55.657 seconds after a tight battle with Kaitangata driver Duncan McCrostie while Glenn Frew from Outram was third.
All three are returning this year while other drivers expected to feature include Paul Cross, of Gore, who will drive with Craig Abernethy while Brian Scott of Dunedin and Gus Osborne of Gore look good too.
The event is a joint promotion between Kaitangata and Districts Promotions and the Eastern Southland Car Club.
Scrutineering starts at 9am, with the first run expected at 11.30am.
The event is the first leg of the Southern Twins Peak Challenge, offering a $500 prize to the competitor with the fastest time from that event and a similar gathering at Bluff on March 7 next year.
Competitors will drive four official runs throughout the Kaitangata race, with the fastest counting towards their overall placing.
There will be five classes: two-wheel-drive 0-1300cc, 1301cc-1600cc and 1601cc and over; and, four-wheel-drive, plus a racing car category.
