Qualifying for King of the Hill at the 2022 Simola Hillclimb is done and dusted, setting the scene for the exciting Class Finals and all-or-nothing Top 10 Shootouts this afternoon.
Andre Bezuidenhout has been chipping away at his times, and posted 35.387 sec in the final qualifier in the Gould GR55, 0.4 sec quicker than his previous run, and a similar margin off his winning time and outright record from last year of 34.965 sec. He remains confident that a 34-second time is on the cards this afternoon.
Robert Wolk also had his best time yet of 38.602 sec, placing him second overall in Single Seaters and Sportscars, and in Class C3 going into the Class Finals.
In C2, the thrilling tussle between Andrew Rackstraw (2018 Mygale Formula Ford) and Byron Mitchell (2002 Reynard Formula VW) has heated up. Rackstraw leads after Q6 having dipped below 40 sec for the first time (39.794 sec), with a margin of three-tenths of a second over Mitchell. Megan Verlaque qualified third in the Speedcar Xtreme cross kart (47.351 sec).
Devin Robertson set a storming pace in the Suzuki-powered Radical SR1 ProSport in Class C5, crossing the timing beam in 39.001 sec, with Craig Harper second (49.830 sec) in the Harper Type 5.
Rui Campos leads Class C6 in the roaring Shelby Ford CanAm (41.625 sec), ahead of Matthew Campbell (50.236) in the Harper Type 6.
Modified Saloon Cars
In the Modified Saloon Car category, Franco Scribante is the man to beat currently, as the first tin-top racer to dip below 40 seconds this year, on 39.488 sec in his Nissan GT-R. Reghard Roets has been battling a technical glitch in his GT-R, and his best qualifying run is from Saturday’s first session (40.296 sec). Aldo Scribante goes into the B5 Class Final in third place (42.292 sec) in the Audi S4.
Ricky Giannoccaro set the pace in Class B7 in his Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo (45.302 sec), ahead of Pieter Joubert in the Mercedes-AMG powered Lotus Exige (46.697 sec) and Giacomo Giannoccaro in the wild Nascar V8-powered BMW Z4 GT3 (57.965 sec).
In Class B4, Charl Joubert is the leading contender in the Honda V6-powered Lotus Elise (40.648 sec), followed by Wade van Zummeren (41.950 sec) in his wild rear-wheel drive custom Nissan GT-R and defending KOH champion Pieter Zeelie (42.141 sec) who has been struggling to find a decent set-up with his Toyota MR2 Super GT.
Anton Cronje topped the times in Class B3 in his Subaru Impreza WRX STi (42.024 sec), with Pierre Bester (Mercedes-AMG A45) second on 47.090 sec and Nicholas Schwerdtfeger (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) on 51.022.
It’s a tight race in Class B2, with Graham Nathan (VW Polo SupaCup) holding a slender advantage over Owen Bridger Honda Civic Type-R), with times of 44.247 sec and 44.301 sec respectively.
Road Cars and Supercars
JP van der Walt is the quickest of the road car competitors in the field, blasting his Porsche 911 Turbo S through the beams in 44.632 sec, and leads Class A4 over Deon Joubert in the BMW M4 Competition (46.971 sec).
Sean Mackay tops Class A5 currently (54.349 sec) in the Porsche 911 GT3, with Gordon Nicholson one of the serious title contenders for the King of the Hill podium and the Class A6 title in his Audi R18 V10 Plus (52.721 sec).
The McLaren 720s of Garth Mackintosh heads Class A7 (47.062 sec), while Ciro de Siena holds a comfortable lead in the all-electric vehicle class in the only 400 kW BMW i4 M50 in South Africa, having dipped under 50 sec (49.366 sec). The tussle between the VW Motorsport drivers in the 100 kW e-Golfs sees Jonathan Mogotsi holding the advantage (59.312 sec) over team-mate Daniel Rowe (59.947 sec).
Class A1 has Jared Yeo in the lead in the Porsche Cayman 718s (48.504 sec), with the battle of the official Suzuki Swift Sport entries currently going the way of Wesley Greybe (54.840 sec), just two-tenths ahead of Reuben van Niekerk.
Farhaad Ebrahim was the best qualifier in Class A3 (Toyota Supra), ahead of brother Feroz in an identical car.
Arnold du Plessis is the Class B9 leader in the gargantuan supercharged Nissan Patrol SUV.
Now it’s the exciting Class Finals, followed by the all-or-nothing Top 10 Shootouts.
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Release compiled by Colin Mileman (082-897-6145 colin@milemanmedia.co.za)
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