A TRUE DRIVERʻS EVENT
The Team Efficiency / aBr Giulia entered the B10 class at Simola. For true automotive and motorsport enthusiasts, Simola is unrivalled in the quality and rarity of the vehicles racing. From rare 1970s F1 cars to extreme bewinged hillclimb specials and a wonderful array of relatable road cars, like the Team Efficiency / aBr Giulia.
Tony has only one shakedown session with the Giulia, at Midvaal, before trailering the Team Efficiency / aBr down to Knysna. Typical of the schedule pressures of an amateur racer, Tony had only 8 laps with the car at Midvaal. Useful, but nothing can simulate the steepness of Simola, its complex camber changes, or its surface texture.
Every Simola racer brings their own fears and expectations to the hill. Forget about progressive sports psychology; everyone has a subconscious benchmark time. For a Simola first-timer like Tony, the event was about respecting the hill and discovering the ideal car set-up. And hopefully, as a personal benchmark, being consistently under 1 minute while learning the hill.
LEARNING WITH EACH RUN
‘ My Alfa was a rocket, but I needed more seat time. It’ s so different between the sim and real life. On the sim, 47 seconds is easy. I thought 50 seconds would be a breeze.’ Tony’ s best Sunday race run( 1:00.297) was a touch slower than his fastest time on Saturday.
Over the weekend, Tony realised how much the road shape and pure physics of racing influenced his runs.‘ It’ s so fast with lots of off-camber corners. So having a feel for your car’ s braking performance and levels of grip, is everything’.
For Tony, Simola was everything he hoped for.‘ It’ s an experience you can’ t really explain. The 250 superkarts I raced were quicker than most things on track. But Simola is different. It’ s over before you know it. You launch, then hope you are on the right line through those sweeps. Then it’ s over. It’ s such a rush.’
For Team Efficiency / aBr Giulia the Simola experience proved how healthy South Africa’ s alternative motorsport scene is. And why so many racers and cars make the pilgrimage to Knysna for the Simola event, which is almost unrivalled in what it can offer drivers as a challenge, but also for families and partners as a destination weekend.
What is next for the Team Efficiency / aBr Giulia? Tony has some composite ideas, shaped from carbon fibre, for the Giulia ' s bootlid …
MAY 2026 39 WORDS IN ACTION