Two-wheel hill run
A few years back, just after the world reopened for business, Suzuki SA took to a little road in a leafy green area called Simola and brought us along for the ride. The 1.4km road has become legendary worldwide as a place where brave pilots challenge the clock to see who can get their vehicle across the finish line the fastest. When we reported on the event back then, the last paragraph of our story was about motorcycles taking on the hill.
Related: The hills are alive! - Simola Hillclimb 2021
The challenge at the time was that there was no official motorcycle class for two-wheel racers, meaning that bike riders could only take on the hill in an exhibition class and would receive no times or speeds. A significant number of people want to see a bike class at Simola, and at this year's event, we had some time to sit down with those in the know to find out how sanctioning is progressing.
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There is some good news and some bad news. The good news is that MSA (Motorsport South Africa) has indeed sanctioned a motorcycle class and will allow timed runs at Simola. The bad news is all the background work that needs to be done to get this off the ground. It's intense, and there are massive roadblocks that will need to be navigated in order for timed motorcycle class runs to be made.
The Event
The first roadblock to overcome is the event itself. Simola's main event is limited to 85 drivers. This cap is due to the time constraints of getting 85 vehicles up the hill every hour, allowing everyone to get in their practice and official timed runs. Finding time in the schedule to send up another class full of motorcycles becomes difficult as the number of car entries would need to be reduced. The question of how many bikes to allow arises, which leads to the next issue.
The Manufacturers
With a major motorcycle manufacturer as one of the key sponsors, there aren't many manufacturers willing to enter the event with factory machines and riders. The question of who to allow to enter comes up: Will it be factory entries or established race teams? Can privateers enter? Will the manufacturers be willing to race at a competitor-sponsored event? Do the global head offices allow local entities to race when so many have pulled out of major racing events? These questions will all need to be answered before the next roadblock rears its helmet.
The Riders
Who is allowed to ride? Will entries be limited to highly experienced local racers from championships? Will MSA allow just anyone with a superbike and a full wallet to come and race? What type of bike will be allowed? Simola is a showcase of the best of the fastest, and deciding who in the motorcycle fraternity is fit to ride is a tall task.
The Safety
269 deaths..... the world's most popular road race, the Isle of Man TT, has claimed many lives of competitors who were all chasing times. Simola is no different; although no one has died at Simola, every year, some incidents see cars travelling at high speed go off track. Those familiar with the Hillclimb route will know there is no runoff and no margin for error. If one were to go off track at Simola on a motorcycle at high speed, the results would not be pretty. The damage that this would do to the Simola reputation would also not be pretty, as can be seen, every year at the Isle of Man, where a loud contingent raises their hands and screams to ban the race when someone inevitably loses their life.
Will it ever happen?
So, it seems highly unlikely that we will see a sanctioned motorcycle class at Simola for the foreseeable future. The solution may just be simpler than everyone thinks though. We could possibly have an exhibition class, limited to 15 bikes, with vetted riders who are all professionals and have some sort of championship, points finish, or professional status in the industry, ride up the hill.
This could also be the place where manufacturers bring their latest and greatest motorcycle models, like Suzuki and BMW did this year, to showcase to the public. Fully experienced riders clad in factory-emblazoned leathers could show off these machines in a neutral environment. The motorcycle industry would benefit greatly from having a few bikes on the grid, even if the runs are not timed.
This year, we saw six bikes do exhibition runs up Simola Drive. Suzuki brought the brand new, out of the crate, an S1000 GS-X and a 2024 Hayabusa with its new colour scheme. BMW brought the crazy M 1000 R and the newly homologated M 1000 XR, and we had two privateers representing the ladies on a Yamaha R6 and a Kawasaki ZX6.
Hopefully, next year, we may see a few more makes and models taking on the hill to showcase what they can do in the exhibition class. We shall just have to wait and see what 2025 brings!
