In its quest to deliver the ultimate automotive showcase, this year’s Jaguar Simola Hillclimb, scheduled for 3-6 May in Knysna, has raised the bar in the Road Car and Supercar category, which is now dominated by a range of illustrious high-performance car brands.
“Our objective is to refresh the line-up for the Hillclimb to provide an exceptional experience for the spectators and competitors,” says Geoff Goddard, the event’s sporting director.
The classes catering for standard production, road-legal vehicles have been narrowed for the ninth edition of the Jaguar Simola Hillclimb, with the previous four-cylinder and six-cylinder naturally aspirated categories A1, A2 and A5 being dropped owing to a lack of suitable applications.
Therefore, starting off with Class A3 for six-cylinder turbocharged or supercharged two-wheel drive vehicles, a formidable benchmark has been established with the rapid Noble M400 of Feroz Ebrahim, along with the highly-rated 375 kW Alfa Romeo Guilia QV, driven by Piet Potgieter.
As the reigning Road Car and Supercar King of the Hill champion and current record-holder with a time of 43.955 seconds, Reghard Roets will be back to eagerly defend his title in the only Nissan GT-R competing this year in Class A4.
“I really enjoyed my first outing at the Jaguar Simola Hillclimb last year, and it was fantastic to win the King of the Hill title,” Roets said.
“It’s an amazing event that is extremely competitive, and it’s certainly no walk in the park as there are a lot of serious cars and drivers out there.
“What the Hillclimb lacks in distance it certainly makes up for in intensity, and blasting through the 1.9 km course in just 43 seconds takes serious focus and commitment.”
With Class A5 falling away, next up are the normally aspirated V8-powered machines in A6, including a Ferrari 458 driven by Garth Mackintosh.
Class A7 will be the biggest and most fiercely contested category, with an almighty battle set to ensue between two of the biggest names in American V8 muscle. Ford Performance Centre’s supercharged Roush Ford Mustang will be going head-to-head against rival Shelby South Africa with its Mustang Super Snake.
