Simola ready for yet another high-speed blast up the hill

If there’s one set of dates that has to be on the calendar for any motorsport competitor or enthusiast it is May 7-10 2020 as this will be the 11th edition of the Simola Hillclimb in Knysna — renowned as one of SA’s premier motoring and motorsport lifestyle events.

“We’ve had fantastic interest in the 2020 Simola Hillclimb, and received over 160 applications by mid-January,” says Geoff Goddard, Simola Hillclimb’s sporting director.

“As [this is] a strictly invitational event, the cut-off on 31 January gives us time to work through all of the entry applications and finalise the list of competitors to get the very best mix of who will be invited to participate in this year’s event.

“Each slot in Classic Car Friday and King of the Hill is highly prized among the motorsport fraternity. We aim to deliver the very best spectacle for competitors and spectators alike with a diverse and exciting range of cars and drivers,” Goddard says.

“Every year we are oversubscribed with entry applications and expressions of interest from local and international drivers continues to grow. Therefore it’s essential that competitors hoping to participate submit their applications on time as no late entries can be considered.”

For Classic Car Friday on May 8, for memorable cars from the heydays of racing, the field is limited to 65 vehicles.

King of the Hill sees a total of 84 cars going head-to-head for victories in their respective classes on 9 and 10 May.

The Road-going Saloon Cars and Supercars category caters for standard production and road-legal cars — from hot hatches all the way to high-end sporting machines like the Nissan GT-R that has been the dominant force for many years.

They are joined by a selection of SA’s fastest racing machines in the Modified Saloon Car category — with Franco Scribante’s multiwinged Nissan GT-R setting a new benchmark for its radical design and title-winning performance in 2019.

The Single Seater and Sports Prototypes category is home to thoroughbred racing cars, including the specialised Gould GR55 that Andre Bezuidenhout powered to the existing Simola Hillclimb record of 35.528 seconds in 2018. Though competitors will be vying for the overall King of the Hill title for this category, separate classes are provided for the single-seater entries as well as the sports prototype racers.

For more information visit: www.simolahillclimb.com