It was a nail-biting weekend of fierce competition in more ways than one at the 2018 Jaguar Simola Hillclimb this weekend past, as records were set in each of the three categories as South Africa’s elite drivers vied for bragging rights.
For starters, André Bezuidenhout tore up the 1.9km climb in a heart-stopping 35.528 seconds in the shootout phase, to become undisputed King of the Hill for a second year running at an average speed of 192km/h from a standing start.
Last year he rolled in a 1989 Dallara F189 Formula 1 car, and this year brought the recently acquired Gould GR55 - a specialist hillclimb single-seater built in the UK with much-improved aerodynamics and a paddle-shift transmission.
Even though he had limited seat time in the Gould leading up to the event, he pushed it hard, wrapping up the qualifying sessions with a best time of 36.006 seconds.
STYLE: Franco Scribante, Classic Conqueror
André says: “I felt confident throughout the weekend that a 35-second time was possible, but was slightly worried when the temperature dropped in the late afternoon for the final run.
“It has been an amazing weekend, and this is an exceptional event. I can’t think of another motorsport event where so many people stay right to the end and are so enthusiastic. I have to say well done to the organisers and sponsors.”
The modified saloon car section was hotly contested, with drama and excitement the order of that day as Wilhelm Baard defended his 2017 record of 39.892 seconds.
This year he drove an upgraded version of the BB Motorsport Nissan GT-R, with a new aerodynamic kit, rumoured at 1300 horses and dubbed “Armageddon” (Bobby would have called it CARmageddon).
NERVY LOOK: Stunt driver Terry Grant. Photo: Rob Till Photographic. Photo: Rob Till Photographic
Wilhelm had a helluva weekend, spinning out at the top of the Simola hill on Saturday and breaking a front splitter, then having to contend with an oil fire breaking out in his GT-R after the dipstick came loose.
But sometimes having to face the problems makes a driver come out even more determined. Wilhelm pulled a blinder of a run in the Class Final, blasting through the timing beam in 39.463 seconds to set a new personal best and record for Class B.
Wilhelm says: “Just about everything seemed to go wrong this weekend, but eventually it all clicked together right at the end. The team and I are exhausted, but very happy.”
“There was the small issue of the car catching fire the morning and we had to replace a wiring harness in just half an hour. We even had a problem in the Class Final with the car not changing down a gear in turn two, but ironically when we checked the data it was actually faster through the corner - so I used this technique to great effect for the Top 10 Shootout.
SHEER MUSCLE: Franco Di Matteo in his Jaguar. Photo: Rob Till Photographic
Among others, he was up against five other GT-Rs plus Anton Cronjé leading the Japanese assault in his wild Subaru Impreza WRX STi, as well as Franco di Matteo’s sheer - courtesy of his Jaguar V8 Supercar racer.
For thrills, the organisers brought awesome stunt driver Terry Grant, plonked him in a Jaguar F-Pace, and sent him up the hill on two wheels with Springbok Eben Etzebeth riding shotgun. He set a three-minute run just for kicks and a bit of extra entertainment for the 17 000-strong crowd, which set an attendance record by the way.
In the road-going saloon car and supercar category, it was a lone star GT-R that took it. Reghard Roets had to represent hard for Nissan to take his second King of the Hill title in a row. In a mighty street-legal Nissan GT-R, he raised the bar even further after he beat his current Hillclimb record for standard road cars by 0.135 sec, registering a blistering run of 44.631 seconds in the class finals.
The former Production Car racer had really thrown down the gauntlet in qualifiers with a time of 44.588 seconds, in an effort to stave off the challenge from a trio of McLaren 570S entries, and a serious contender in Dawie Olivier’s roaring Jaguar F-Type SVR that came in at second on the podium by seven-hundredths of a second.
KLEINTJIE: Anita Cussens in a 1969 Fiat Abarth. Photo: Rob Till Photographic
A mention must go to Mark Cronjé, a multiple karting and rally champion, who powered Jaguar’s flagship performance sedan, the new 423kW XJR 575, throwing the luxury limo through the bends to the delight of the crowds, in a very respectable 48.485 seconds.
Classic Car Friday saw some real beauties rolled out. A pair of immaculate E-Types wowed the crowd. One, driven by Patrick Gearing (good petrolkop name there) was a 1972 V12 Series 3 Coupe once owned by Princess Marie of Liechtenstein.
In the overall timesheets there was no match for Franco Scribante, who took a third Classic Conqueror title in his wicked Chevron B19 with a best pass of 42.196 seconds.
Then there was the prize that went to the ou with the most gees, the driver that reflects South African race legend Dave Charlton’s all-round dedication and performance in motorsport.
SPIRIT: Willie Hepburn was awarded a trophy. Photo: Rob Till Photographic
Legendary driver Willie Hepburn, his name synonymous with V8 muscle, brought his iconic 7.0-litre Chevrolet V8-powered Opel Record - a car that he still drives and maintains at an age of 76. Hepburn earned the Spirit of Dave Charlton floating trophy for the 2018 King of the Hill.