Who will be 2015’s King of the Hill?
WHAT’S normally a quiet landscape backdropped by one of South Africa’s most picturesque golf courses will again be roused by the sound of screaming engines, as the Simola Golf Estate in Knysna plays host to the annual Jaguar Simola Hillclimb this weekend.
The final preparations are being put into place at the resort’s service driveway where for the sixth time since 2009, some of the country’s finest cars and top motorsportsmen will start one at a time and race up the hill in a time trial format. Organisers are expecting this to be the biggest Simola Hillclimb yet, with over 130 road and race cars set to tackle the 1.9km route over three days from this Friday to Sunday.
As in previous years, Friday’s racing will be dedicated to older cars only. Classic Car Friday, as it’s known, will attract some extremely rare and valuable machinery including a pre-war Bugatti Type 35, a Harry Pierce-built MG special called “Fatman”, and last year’s overall race winner Franco Scribante in a bright orange 911 RSR. Friday’s final shootout will start at 2.25pm.
The Hillclimb’s main event King of the Hill shootout will be staged on Saturday and Sunday, but spectators will get a chance to be up close and personal with the 80 entrants on Friday at the Knysna Waterfront, where documentation and scrutineering will be held, followed by a parade and static exhibition from 2pm to 3pm.
Saturday will see non-stop action starting at 9am when practice sessions for Sunday’s King of the Hill grand finale will begin.
Here Franco Scribante will begin the defence of his 2014 title with his seriously quick 1970 Chevron B19, but last year’s runner-up Des Gutzeit will also be getting to grips with his freshly prepared 900kW Nissan GT-R. Other notable entries will be Greg Parton in his Lambo Aventador, Jaki Scheckter in an R35 GT-R, Ernst du Preez’s McLaren 12C and Mike BeachyHead’s insanely loud Porsche 917 replica with an Infiniti V8 engine.
Sunday’s qualifying rounds start at 9am with the King of the Hill final due off at 3.55pm sharp.
Jaguar’s involvement will see various current models on track, including one driven by yours truly as a media entry, but will also include a first glimpse of the upcoming XE sedan which will be launched locally this September. Jag has also partnered with the British-based Bloodhound SSC project, and will have a full size cutaway model of the jet- and rocket-propelled car on display for fans to see. Jaguar has provided an F-Type V8 R engine to the Bloodhound team to use as a fuel-pump when the 13.47-metre long machine attempts a land-speed record-breaking 1 610km/h at SA’s Hakskeen Pan in the near future.
The Bloodhound display will also feature a Driving Experience computer simulator to offer a few lucky participants a chance at “driving” the car in virtual top speed runs. This will include realistic pre-run checks, acceleration to 320km/h, priming rocket boosters and experiencing acceleration of 85km/h per second. Those who complete the two-minute task will be gifted with posters signed by the Bloodhound’s pilot Sir Andy Green.
General admission tickets, which are only available at the gate, are R80 per person per day and R50 for kids age 3 to 11. Pit tickets are R100 per person. Go to www.speedfestival.co.za for more information.