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IOL News
06-05-2025
- Automotive
- IOL News
2025 Simola Hillclimb: New records and victors emerge amid tragedy
The 2025 Simola Hillclimb event in Knysna was marred with tragedy as seasoned racer Pieter Joubert lost his life in an accident on the hill while performing a qualifying run on Sunday morning. At the request of the family, Sunday's King of the Hill challenge continued in a shortened format to honour Joubert. And honour him they did, with drivers putting on a spectacular display of driving skill in the final Top 10 shootout. This culminated in a new record in the Modified Saloon Car category, with 2021 winner Pieter Zeelie performing a best run of 37.090 seconds in his Toyota MR2 Super GT, slashing 1.039 seconds off Nissan R35 GT-R driver Franco Scribante's previous record. Zeelie was the first saloon car competitor to break through the 40-second barrier during qualifying with an astonishing time of 37.553 seconds. While an unexpected electrical glitch during the Class Finals ended that run prematurely, more importantly he put on a faultless performance in the final run of the day to secure the 2025 King of the Hill victory. He finished 1.280 seconds ahead of Roets. 'We worked hard on the set-up of the car, and everything just came together today,' Zeelie said. '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,' the winner added. Reghard Roets finished second overall with a time of 38.370 seconds in his BB Motorsport Nissan GT-R. The 2025 event also saw some electrified action, with seven-time World Rallycross champion Johan Kristoffersson blitzing the electric vehicle record with a fastest time of 39.001 seconds in the Volkswagen Polo RX1e, while also securing third overall. Although the silent motor did little to excite, the WRX champion did manage to mesmerise the crowds with perfectly controlled four-wheel drifts through many of the corners, which Kristoffersson put down to tyre choice.
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
