The hills are alive! - Simola Hillclimb
The 11th running of the Simola Hillclimb had been postponed numerous times over the last 18 months due to the pandemic, but it was with great relief that a date was finally set and the event would get underway albeit without any spectators lining the historic route. The Simola hillclimb has become a premiere event on South Africa's motorsport calendar and has been receiving interest not only locally but from international patrons as well. With stunning views of the Knysna lagoon and a 1.9-kilometre stretch of ascending tar, the annual hillclimb is definitely not an event to be missed. With no spectators and only a handful of media being allowed access to the event, we were very happy to accompany hosts, Suzuki SA and Nissan SA, on an epic weekend of sights and sounds as they supported the teams that had brought vehicles powered by their respective brands.
Classic Conquerer
The weekend started on Friday on a high note with racing legend Franco Scribante winning the Classic Conqueror title in his Suzuki Hayabusa-powered Chevron B26. Scribante and his racing team built a V8 engine from two Hayabusa engines, giving their classic race car unmatched power that beat even the classic Formula 1 race car on the Simola hill. Scribante raced up the hill in a winning time of 39.943 seconds after setting the fastest time during testing and qualifying rounds.
Monsters on the hill
Reigning King of the Hill Franco Scribante was widely considered a sure-bet to repeat his dominance in the outrageous 2016 Nissan R35 GT-R after charging to a new Modified Saloon Car official record of 39.303 seconds in the Class Finals – 0.039 sec quicker than his 2019 time. However, as the last car out of the blocks, a less-than-perfect final run saw him cross the finish line in 40.522 seconds, relegating him to second place.
Scribante came the closest at the end of the day. He missed a gear change on his run up the hill which cost him valuable time and left him just shy of the winning time of 40.402 set by Pieter Zeelie. The monstrous GT-R of Scribante with its distinctive aerodynamic kit and rumoured 2000 horsepower racing engine also had a gremlin in its racing electronics that bothered the team throughout Sunday’s racing. This meant that in some runs he was the fastest modified saloon on the hill and in others the car would slow down and keep him out of the top 10.
One of the most entertaining, was Wade van Zummeren in his R35-powered four-wheel drive Nissan R34 GT-R. He surprised the field of highly competitive GT-R racers by setting the second fastest qualifying time in the final day. Unfortunately, a technical glitch on the car during the Class Finals saw him come to a halt on the long uphill straight. He threw everything at the Top 10 Shootout final run, taking the wild GT-R on a hair-raising charge up the hill – with several heart-stopping moments as the car lurched onto the dirt on several occasions, and destroyed several of the track limit markers. Although he scored 10 out of 10 for effort, his time was deleted as a result.
Preceding the final Top 10 Shootout, the competitors faced off against each other in the one-run Class Finals. Andre Bezuidenhout was once again in a class of his own in the Gould GR55, and already laid down a new Simola Hillclimb record at 35.164 seconds – which he then went on to beat in the Top 10 Shootout. In the process, he also claimed the Class C3 title, ahead of Robert Wolk in the A1 GP with his best time of the weekend at 36.819 seconds.
Devin Robertson claimed the Class C4 win with a time of 41.166 seconds in the Radical SR1 Clubsport, while Class C5 went to the ADR MCE of James Forbes (47.388 sec). In the battle of the Shelby CanAm racers, Rui Campos took the victory in the mighty Ford 5.0-litre V8-powered car (42.290 sec) with Knysna resident Michael Verrier having to settle for the runner-up position in his Nissan 3.5 V6-powered machine (44.063 sec).
King of the Hill Modified Saloon
| Pieter Zeelie | Toyota MR2 | 40.402 | |
| Franco Scribante | Nissan GTR | 40.522 | R35 engine |
| Charl Arangies | Lamborghini Huracan | 41.081 | |
| Charl Joubert | Lotus | 41.385 | Honda engine |
| Wilelm Baard | Nissan GTR | 41.829 | |
| Anton Cronje | Subaru WRX | 42.279 | |
| Silvio Scibante | Lamborghini Huracan | 42.386 | |
| Franco Di Mateo | Jagaur V8 Supercar | 43.375 | |
| Dawie Jobert | Lotus | -.- | Ferrari engine |
| Wade van Zummeran | Nissan GTR R34 | -.- | RB26 |
King of the Hill single seater
| Andre Bezuidenhout | Gould GR55 | 34.965 | |
| Robert Wolk | Pillbeam MP58 | 37.205 | |
| Byron Mitchell | Reynard FVW | 40.381 | |
| Andrew Rackstraw | Reynard FVW | 40.916 | |
| Devin Robertson | Radical SR1 | 41.075 | |
| Rui Campos | Shelby CanAm | 41.676 | |
| Michael Verrier | Shelby CanAm | 43.645 | |
| Andrew Scholfield | Mygale SJ | 47.456 | |
| James Forbes | ADR MCE3 | 47.751 | |
| Megan Ferlaque | Speedcar Xtreme | 47.876 |
Bikers rejoice
Another highlight of the weekend was the brand new 2022 Suzuki Hyabusa. Suzuki SA had brought the one and only model in South Africa for a few days out of its whirlwind dealership tour so that AJ Venter could take it up the hill. Although many were hesitant to actually time the monster, an eye watering time of just 50.265 seconds was recorded, a very brave outing indeed. Talk around the water cooler is that we may possibly see motorcycles taking on the hill in future, now that would be entertaining!
What of next year?
Well we can confirm that the 12th running of the event will take place, barring any further outbreaks, in May next year. We can also confirm that there has been a lot on interest from overseas with a number of famous Pikes Peak racers expressing their willingness to attempt the Simola Hill.
We will definitely be keeping an eye on developments and hope to see new faces and hopeful challengers next year.
