Suzuki Swift Sport lives up to its name
THE Suzuki Swift Sport has slayed the mythical Simola Hill with unexpectedly fast times and a place on the class podium.
The two Swift Sport models – a manual and an automatic – ended the class final race on Sunday afternoon with times of 54.913 seconds (Reuben van Niekerk, automatic) and 54.580 (Wesley Greybe, manual).
The time set by Greybe was enough to earn him a spot on the class podium. It was a mere six seconds slower than the class winner, Jared Yeo, in a Porsche Cayman 718 S.
“We came to Simola to show that you don’t need to break the bank to have a truly competitive sports car, or great fun, on the hill climb,” said Brendon Carpenter, brand marketing manager of Suzuki Auto South Africa.
Suzuki joined the 2022 Simola Hillclimb as a Tier One sponsor after supporting several Suzuki-powered racers in the 2021 event.
“We decided to join the event as a sponsor because it resonates with our brand’s love of fun and excitement.
“We also wanted to help the event return as a fan favourite after the lockdown,” says Carpenter.
Two other racers also represented Suzuki power.
Devin Robertson returned to Simola with his Suzuki Hayabusa-powered Radical SR1.
He set one of the fastest times of the day during the qualifying rounds and ended the race day with a time of 39.515 seconds.
Megan Verlaque was a crowd favourite in her diminutive Speedcar EXTREME, powered by a Suzuki GSX-R600 engine.
Verlaque is a rallycross specialist. She ended her campaign with a final run of 46.828 seconds during the final Top 10 shootout.
The two Suzuki superbikes also returned for a final couple of runs on Sunday.
Suzuki shipped a first version of its all-new GSX-S1000 SGT to the Simola Hill before it is officially launched.
Suzuki invited their top-tier racer AJ Venter to bring his Isle of Man TT GSX-R1000 R in full race specification to the hill, where he entertained the crowds during intermissions, sometimes on one wheel only.