Latest news with #PieterZeelie
The Citizen
05-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Citizen
Simola crowns Zeelie king amidst tragic final day
Final day's proceedings became delayed for nearly hours following the first fatality in the event's history. Pieter Zeelie took the overall Simola King of the Hill victory in his Toyota MR2 Super GT. Image: Motorsport South Africa The Simola Hillclimb celebrated its 15th running with the crowning of a new King of Hill this past Sunday (4 May), but on a bittersweet note as it also saw the event's first fatality since its inception. New king Despite the presence of seven-time World Rallycross (WRX) champion Johan Kristoffersson as the event's highlight with his whispering all-electric Volkswagen Polo RX1e, 2021 champion, Pieter Zeelie, eventually reigned supreme with a time of 37.090 in his turbocharged V6 engine Toyota MR2 Super GT. NOW READ: New king awaits crowning as Knysna readies for Simola Hillclimb Taking second place, Reghard Roets finished 1.280 seconds behind in his BB Motorsport Nissan GT-R, while Kristoffersson took the final step on the podium with a time of 39.001 seconds. Seven-times World Rallycross (WRX) champion Johan Kristoffersson about to blast away from the start line brutally silent all-electric Volkswagen Polo RX1e. Image: Charl Bosch While held in dry conditions throughout Saturday and Sunday, Friday's opening practise sessions and classic car run saw wet and changeable weather greet the competitors. Class wins This, however, didn't prevent Charles Arton from taking his second Classic Run title in his former works 1979 March 79a Formula Atlantic. His first overall victory since 2015, Arton completed the 1.9 km stretch of road outside Knysna in a time of 44.436, thereby bettering the times of second place finisher and 2023 champion Andre Bezuidenhout (1976 Lola T400) and third place finisher Ian Schofield (1977 March 77b Formula Atlantic). Heading to victory. Mercedes-AMG Driving Experience boss Clint Weston won the overall standard road car category. Image: Charl Bosch In the other classes, Byron Mitchell took the overall single-seater victory in his Formula Volkswagen ahead of veteran Rick Morris (Formula Ford) and youngster KC Ensor-Smith in the brand-new Formula 4 car that debuted at the National Extreme Festival round at Kyalami last month. The standard road car class eventually headed the way of former Group N class champion and current Mercedes-AMG Experience boss Clint Weston, whose Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E-Performance finished ahead of the BMW Driving Experience M4 of Cristiano Verolini, and teammate Courtney Nicholl in the AMG C63 S E Performance. Pieter Joubert Despite the crowning of a new king, the event ended on a sombre mood following an accident on Sunday morning that claimed the life of veteran racer Pieter Joubert. Having been third fastest in his class throughout Saturday, tragedy struck when the distinctive yellow Mercedes-AMG C63-powered Lotus Exige veered off of the road on a straight section at over 200 km/h. Pieter Joubert practising on Saturday before tragically passing away during final practise on Sunday morning. Image: Charl Bosch While no cause was immediately determined, possible suspension or steering issues were suspected given the nature of how the car suddenly turned right without warning, before impacting a tree. Although quickly on the scene that happened before the turn three bridge, emergency crews declared Joubert deceased on arrival. The Joubert family, including brothers Dawie and Charl who were also competing in a pair of Exiges, expressed willingness for the event to continue, though both withdrew soon after the announcement. ALSO READ: Simola crowns its new king
IOL News
04-05-2025
- Automotive
- IOL News
WATCH LIVE: Simola Hillclimb ‘King of the Hill' resumes after blistering Saturday quali
Toyota MR2 driver Pieter Zeelie is closing in on the Modified Saloon record. Image: Supplied A battle of old foes, former winners and title hopefuls have set the scene for an exciting showdown on Sunday, the final day of the 2025 Simola Hillclimb in Knysna. Saturday's three qualifying sessions saw 2021 winner Pieter Zeelie top the time sheets with an impressive fastest run of 38.220 seconds in his heavily modified Toyota MR2. This put him within six-hundredths of a second of the current Modified Saloon car record of 38.129 seconds, set by Franco Scribante in his radical multi-winged Nissan R35 GT-R in 2022. 'There is definitely more time to be had, and it can only go better tomorrow,' Zeelie said. Breathing down Zeelie's neck on Saturday was Nissan R35 GT-R driver Reghard Roets, who came second on the timesheets with a time of 38.386 seconds. Sunday's final Shootout will no doubt see the BB Motorsport driver put in a serious challenge for the win, which has been elusive since he entered the fray in 2022. Scribante's GT-R, meanwhile, was surprisingly off pace on Saturday, with his best time being 1.5 seconds short of his record, although he will no doubt be back with a vengeance on Sunday after some overnight tweaks to his car. Rounding out the top five were Davie Joubert (Lotus Exige) and his brother Charl in a Lotus Elise. But will any of these Modified Saloon Car drivers dip below the 38-second mark for the first time this year? Roets certainly seems to think so. Meanwhile in the realm of silent speed, seven-time World Rallycross champion Johan Kristoffersson set the benchmark for electric vehicles with a time of 40.157 seconds in his title-winning Volkswagen Polo RX1e. This was 0.008 seconds faster than that three-time World Rally Champion Petter Solberg achieved in his petrol-powered WRC Polo R in 2023. Multiple World Rallycross champion Johan Kristoffersson in his EV. Image: Supplied 'I'm really enjoying being back in our championship-winning car, and although it's not loud like most of the cars here, it's pretty fast,' Kristoffersson said. 'This is a very high-speed course with two very tricky sections at Turn 2 and Turn 3 that you have to get absolutely right for a quick time, but the twisty section at the top is basically flat-out the whole way.' In the Single Seater and Sports Car category it was Robert Wolk that set the pace in his 2005 Gould GR55B, with a best qualifying time of 36.140 seconds. In the Road Car and Supercar category, Clint Weston took charge on Saturday in the newly launched Mercedes-AMG GT 63 SE E Performance, managing a time of 43.356 seconds. Following close behind was BMW M4 driver Cristiano Verolini, with a time of 44.018 seconds. The Simola Hillclimb is not just about supercars, however, with top-tier sponsor Suzuki entering a Jimny, Swift Sport and Swift GLX with motoring media behind the wheel. Sean Nurse proving the Jimny can. Image: Supplied The Japanese automaker is out to prove that affordable cars can provide a fun entry into motorsport events such as the Simola Hillclimb, as drivers Sean Nurse, Jeanette Kok-Kritzing and Ernest Page discover in the three respective Suzuki vehicles. Sunday sees three final qualifying runs up the 1.9km hil, with these determining which top-three competitors in each class makes it to the Class Finals as well as the Top 10 Shootout in the late afternoon. Watch the Simola Hillclimb live here: Watch: 2025 Simola Hillclimb Saturday Incidents and Accidents Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel IOL
