Simola Hillclimb

Following the super successful, internationally acclaimed 2023 Simola Hillclimb, it’s once again all systems go for the 14th edition of the event scheduled for 2 – 5 May 2024. Bouncing back from the challenging past few years, the 13th edition of the Hillclimb was an unprecedented success. For the first time we had ‘Sold Out’ signs go up well before the event for pit, grandstand and hospitality tickets, attendance was a record 17 040 people over the weekend, our live stream broadcast reached over 366 000 views and 5.5 million minutes viewed, and international engagement on social media was off the charts.

International stars, former Formula One driver Mika Salo, World Rally and 3-time World Rallycross champion Petter Solberg, and his brother 5-time Finnish Rally champion, Henning, ensured an unprecedented fan experience for those in attendance, while also elevating the event to a much larger global audience. Playing a huge part in this experience were the eight local car brands – referred to as Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) within the industry – who entered a variety of exciting cars, SUVs and a bakkie in the event and, some of whom, facilitated or brought out the international drivers.

Based on this success, we are expecting another record crowd of spectators and corporate guests in 2024, and an oversubscription of competitors wishing to compete. We have added a new Modified Street Car class to the mix for 2024, which will allow owners of cars that have been slightly modified to compete among themselves, rather than against the highly modified racing saloons as they have had to do in the past. The car tuning segment of the market has grown considerably in the past decade and we feel adding this class will attract some very exciting cars to the field.

Competitors can lodge their intentions to enter via this website from 2 October 2023 until 31 January 2024 after which the field will be set and we get ready for action. Please subscribe to our newsletter on the link below to be kept up to date on when the intention to enter process opens.

With so much interest in the Simola Hillclimb amongst local and international competitors and OEMs, we are expecting some very exciting cars and more high profile drivers to contest the event over the next few years. This will ensure that the on-track action is sure to be hotter and more competitive than ever. We suggest you book your tickets sooner rather than later. Ticket sales will open in August. Please subscribe to our newsletter on the link below to be kept up to date on when ticket sales open.

For those that can’t make it to trackside, we will once again convey the track action in the best manner possible via television, live stream, media and social media.

Please browse the site for more detail on the 2023 event.

A little background

When we set out on this journey, we were told that few would come to Knysna for a motorsport event, but with vision and hard work we have built a local motorsport lifestyle showcase that attracts competitors, spectators and broadcast viewers from around the globe.

In our striving to always keep improving we have evaluated what was good and not so good from previous years, listened to all our stakeholders, looked at other global events for inspiration and ideas, and then decided which factors to implement with the view to making the Simola Hillclimb a better experience for all.

This constant striving to improve the event has seen it continue to grow and become a must-attend event for competitors and guests alike. Having international drivers of the caliber of Petter Solberg and Mika Salo singing its praises and wanting to come back, and the OEMs wanting to showcase exciting road and race cars, bodes well for the future.

From a media perspective we had over 160 media personnel apply for accreditation in 2023. Our media coverage value for the 13th edition was over R130 million between January and mid-June, our website had almost 330 000 visits to the end of May, our Facebook reach was over 425 000, Instagram over 383 000 impressions and Twitter had over 83 700 impressions. To date, thanks to our social media partner, Hillclimb Monsters, the event has been viewed over 28,5 million times on its Facebook platform and 8.6 million times on its You Tube channel. The Simola Hillclimb You Tube channel has delivered over 204 100 views excluding the live stream element.

On track the fastest car remains the Gould single seater in the hands of Andre Bezuidenhout. Due to weather conditions he could not challenge his time from 2022 and his record remains at 34.161 sec at an average speed of 200.228 km/h – from a standing start!

What does the 2024 Simola Hillclimb hold in store? Time will tell, but no doubt it’s going to be bigger and better and the action will more entertaining than ever. Don’t miss it …. live in Knysna or on your device or tv!

Fast fact: The number on the car in our logo changes each year to reflect the edition of the event.