MOTORING NEWS
TRIUMPH TRAGEDY
& AT THE 15TH ANNUAL SIMOLA HILLCLIMB
Spectacular performances countered equally tragic events at this year’ s event, with increased manufacturer presence and large advances amongst the machinery.
Two new King of the Hill champions emerged, while a past victor returned to claim the title with a remarkable drive that established an outstanding new record. Sunday’ s abbreviated Simola Hillclimb programme was held in remembrance of Pieter Joubert, who tragically died in an accident during the first run of the day. Despite their profound loss, Pieter’ s brothers, Charl and Dawie( the 2024 winner), while withdrawing from the event themselves, requested that the competition proceed as a tribute to him.
In the Modified Saloon Car category Pieter Zeelie, the 2021 champion, achieved a remarkable victory in his Toyota MR2 Super GT. Driving the rear-wheel drive vehicle, he outperformed the four-wheel drive Nissan R35 GT-Rs of Reghard Roets and Franco Scribante. During the Top 10 Shootout, Zeelie set an astonishing new record of 37.090 seconds, breaking Scribante’ s previous 2022 record of 38.129 seconds by 1.039 seconds.
Earlier in the event, Zeelie became the first tintop competitor to break the 40-second barrier during qualifying, clocking an impressive 37.553 seconds. Despite an electrical issue that prematurely ended his Class Finals run, he delivered a flawless performance in the final Top 10 Shootout, securing the 2025 King of the Hill title. He finished 1.280 seconds ahead of Roets.
Reflecting on his win, Zeelie stated,“ We worked hard on the set-up of the car, and everything just came together today. The performance of the car and the team was phenomenal, and I’ m ecstatic with the result.” He added,“ We turned the boost up for the Class Final, but we couldn’ t find out what caused the engine to cut out, so I decided to turn the boost down for the Top 10 Shootout, so I’ m confident that a 36-second time is definitely possible after today. I won this event in 2021 with a time of 40.402 seconds, so it shows how much things have progressed.”
Seven-time World Rallycross champion Johan Kristoffersson secured third place in the Modified Saloon Cars category. Additionally, he set a new electric vehicle record of 39.001 seconds during the Top 10 Shootout while piloting his WRX championship-winning Volkswagen Polo RX1e.“ I was very motivated to get into the 39-second mark today, and we have been fine-tuning the car throughout the weekend to make it progressively faster,” Kristoffersson said.“ We nearly made it into the
38s at the end, and I’ m very happy with the job the team did today”.
Kristoffersson attributed his third-place finish to a strategic tyre change. Initially using radial rallycross tyres, which proved slower on the hill, he switched to a cross-pattern tyre. This allowed for controlled four-wheel drifts, essential for maximizing speed through the corners. He emphasized the delicate balance required – enough drift for speed, but not so much as to lose time, which they ultimately achieved.
He expressed gratitude to Volkswagen and the Simola Hillclimb organizers for the opportunity to showcase their electric WRX car, praising the event’ s atmosphere. However, Pieter Joubert’ s accident cast a pall over the day, and his thoughts are with Joubert’ s family.
Despite the Franco Scribante Racing team’ s efforts to refine the Nissan R35 GT-R’ s suspension setup to better handle the uphill straight’ s uneven surface throughout the Simola Hillclimb weekend, they encountered challenges in achieving competitive speed. Ultimately, Scribante’ s best run of 39.631 seconds placed him fourth in the Top 10 Shootout, a significant 1.5 seconds slower than his personal best.
Silvio Scribante piloted his Audi RS3 to fifth place with a time of 40.409 seconds. Following him was Wade van Zummeren in a Nissan R34 GT-R( 41.037 seconds) and George Evans driving an R35 GT-R( 42.179 seconds). Jonathan Mogotsi of Volkswagen Motorsport finished in 43.579 seconds in his Polo. Anton Cronje in his Subaru Impreza WRX STi completed the top ten with a time of 54.098 seconds. Notably, Cronje was also honored with this year’ s Spirit of Dave Charlton Award, recognizing his professionalism and commitment to motorsport.
Byron Mitchell, driving his Reynard Formula VW, claimed the King of the Hill title in the Single Seater and Sports Car category after a dominant Top 10 Shootout performance. While consistently a podium contender, the absence of two key competitors paved the way for his comfortable victory, clocking in at 41.770 seconds.
Six-time winner Andre Bezuidenhout was absent from King of the Hill for the second year in a row due to ongoing engine repairs on his 2006 Gould GR55B in the UK. Reigning champion Robert Wolk, driving the Investchem team’ s recently acquired 2005 Gould GR55B, initially showed promise with a qualifying time of 36.140 seconds. This was achieved despite limited testing and significant setup work on the challenging Simola Hill course. However, a faulty electronic sensor forced his retirement early Sunday morning, preventing a potential second victory.
Ultimately, the King of the Hill title and the C2 class victory went to Mitchell, who delivered a flawless performance throughout the weekend, setting an even faster time of 41.696 seconds.
Rick Morris secured second place overall in his Formula Ford with a time of 47.444 seconds, narrowly beating 16-year-old Klayden Cole Ensor-Smith by 0.258 seconds. Ensor-Smith was debuting the MSA4, South Africa’ s new premier single-seater championship, which was launched in March at Kyalami.
Allen Meyer was fourth in a Formula VW( 48.343 seconds), followed by Simphiwe Mohlahlo in a second MSA4 car( 53.568 seconds), with Stefan Wintershoven rounding out the category on 54.793 seconds.
Clint Weston, head of the AMG Driving Academy, claimed the King of the Hill title in the standard production vehicle category at the Simola Hillclimb. Driving the hybrid-powered Mercedes-AMG GT 63 SE E Performance, which made its South African debut, Weston consistently led throughout the weekend. His fastest run of 43.174 seconds in the final Top 10 Shootout secured his victory.
Cristiano Verolini from the BMW Driving Experience, driving the new BMW M4 Competition, closely challenged Weston in each session. However, the significant power advantage of the Mercedes prevented Verolini from overtaking. He ultimately finished second with an impressive time of 43.872 seconds.
Courtney Nicholl, also from the AMG Driving Academy, secured third place in the Mercedes- AMG C63 SE E Performance with a time of 44.599 seconds. BMW’ s Leyton Fourie followed in fourth place in the latest two-door M2( 45.932 seconds). Simola Hillclimb veteran Gordon Nicholson finished fifth in his Audi R8 V10( 46.103 seconds).
The remaining top ten positions were: Garth Mackintosh( McLaren 720s, 47.018 seconds), Natalie Weston( Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 SE E Performance, 47.436 seconds), Yash Rampersad( Porsche 718 Cayman, 47.789 seconds), Paul Munro( Toyota Supra, 48.738 seconds), and Cars. co. za motoring journalist Ashley Oldfield( all-electric MG Cyberster roadster, 49.231 seconds).
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