The countdown has now officially begun for next year’s 14th edition – which takes place in Knysna from 2 to 5 May 2024 – with the opening of applications for entry at www.simolahillclimb.com. The closing date for applications is 31 January 2024, and accepted entries will be invited by 9 February 2024.
Following the successful running of South Africa’s premier motorsport and motoring lifestyle event in September this year (after three COVID-19 enforced postponements) the Simola Hillclimb will now return to its traditional first weekend in May time slot of 6 to 8 May 2022.
And the good news for potential competitors is that the online competitor entry process is open with immediate effect at www.simolahillclimb.com. The closing date for applications is 31 January 2022.
In a ground-breaking partnership revealed today, the Simola Hillclimb and SABC announced that the national free-to-air broadcaster will be the event’s official free-to-air broadcast partner until 2024.
The partnership will mark the end of a three decade-long hiatus of local South African motorsport events receiving live coverage on SABC. The live coverage will include crossings on all three days of the event across SABC Sport’s various platforms, including its premier SABC3 Sports Arena show, Openview and DTT services. In addition, a one-hour highlights package will be screened in the weeks following the event.
If there is adrenalin flowing and fun to be had, you can be sure Suzuki will be there.
The Japanese company on Friday announced its participation in this year’s Simola Hillclimb as a branding partner and supporter of three of the fastest private entries in the Classic Car and King of the Hill racing classes.
MasterDrive is pleased to announce a new collaboration, this time with the renowned Simola Hillclimb. The event will take place from 3 to 5 September and even more people can watch the event as the entire hillclimb will be livestreamed and certain parts will be featured on TV as no spectators will be allowed due to COVID-19 protocols.
The Single Seater and Sports Prototypes category, not surprisingly, currently holds the overall record for the event, with Andre Bezuidenhout having set the quickest time to date in 2018. Despite it being his first outing in the 2007 Gould GR55 V8 – a lightweight single-seater race car purpose-built for hillclimb events – Bezuidenhout set an astonishing time of just 35.528 seconds for the steep, serpentine 1.9 km course, which he completed at a remarkable average speed of 186.052 km/h from a standing start.
The line-up comprises several top contenders from Extreme Supercar and endurance racing, including the Lamborghinis of Ricky Giannoccaro (2014 Gallardo Super Trofeo), and the 2019 Huracan GT3 Evos of Charl Arangies and Silvio Scribante. Mixing it up in the class will be Franco di Matteo in his thundering 6.0-litre V8-powered Jaguar from the V8 Supercars championship, and Stiaan Kriel in a Lexus V8-powered Backdraft Cobra raced in the SA Endurance Series.
The battle for King of the Hill supremacy at this year’s 11th edition of the Simola Hillclimb is set to be an epic showdown, with the Modified Saloon Car category featuring an exceptional line-up of the most extreme, fastest and most powerful cars in South Africa.
From thoroughbred lightweight supercars to race-tuned road cars boasting outrageous power outputs, the fight for glory is going to be hotter than ever when these beasts are unleashed on the short but challenging 1.9 km Simola Hill course. The driver line-up is no less impressive, featuring recent Simola King of the Hill champions, and even a top US driver with an impressive pedigree at the world-renowned Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.