The smell of burning rubber and high-octane fuel hung thick over the Garden Route this past weekend as the Simola Hillclimb served up its 16th helping of flat-out madness. Thousands of fans pitched up with their cooler boxes and camping chairs, soaking up perfect blue skies while watching some of the fastest machinery ever to grace South African tarmac. When the dust finally settled, Robert Wolk and Pieter Zeelie stood tallest on that famous 1,9 kilometre climb.
Wolk bagged his second King of the Hill crown in his 2005 Gould GR55, sending it up the hill in a scorching 35,024 seconds during the winner-takes-all Top 10 Shootout. The Investchem pilot was clocking nearly 200 km/h on average, but true to racer form, he still reckoned there was more in the tank.
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"We made a big jump from last year when we only just got the car, so we've been consistently quick," said Wolk afterwards. "We didn't break that 35-second barrier which was our aim for the weekend, but we made progress right through the two days. The handling and chassis was great, and we got the launch better towards the end. There's definitely room to do better next year."
Ian Schofield drove his 2014 Mygale Formula Ford to second place in 40,967 seconds, while newcomer Connor Kilbride turned plenty of heads on his very first Simola outing, grabbing third in a 2015 Ligier with a 41,766 second run.
But if you wanted drama, the Modified Saloon Cars bunch delivered in spades. Pieter Zeelie bagged his third overall win and second on the trot in that beastly 2002 Toyota MR2, stopping the clocks at 37,216 seconds. Here's the thing though – he missed his own class record from last year by just over a tenth of a second. That's basically a blink.
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"I'm absolutely over the moon," Zeelie said with a grin. "Yesterday was tough because I just couldn't find rear grip, but today we put our heads down and it all came together. I couldn't have gone any faster – we ran maximum downforce and boost on that last run. We're all chuffed with how it turned out."
Franco Scribante, a five-time winner who knows this hill like the back of his hand, looked dangerous but had his 38,317 second run thrown out after clipping a marker at the top. His son Silvio showed plenty of pace in that bright yellow Audi RS3 they call Pacman, posting a 38,485 in the shootout after an even quicker 38,103 earlier. Steve Clark brought his Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R home in third with a 39,827 second run.
Poor Reghard Roets had a weekend to forget – just when he looked ready to mix it up with the best, gearbox trouble on the BB Motorsport Nissan R35 GT-R during Sunday's warm-up put him out of the running completely.
Over in the Road Car and Supercar division, Clint Weston made it look easy. He won his second straight title in that 2025 Mercedes-AMG and smashed the class record while he was at it, clocking 42,527 seconds.
Cristiano Verolini took second in his 2026 BMW M4 with a 44,099 second blast, while German factory driver Jens Klingmann rounded out the podium in the standard production car class, doing 44,893 seconds in the new M5.
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Classic Car Friday was a beauty in its own right. Ian Schofield grabbed his second Classic Conqueror title in his 1977 March 77B Formula Atlantic, edging out seven-time champ Franco Scribante who had to settle for second in his Chevron B19 with a 41,222 second run. Schofield's winning time? A tidy 40,881 seconds.
Reghard Roets got some redemption on Friday, pushing that BB Motorsport museum's Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R to a podium finish in 45,290 seconds.
"I absolutely love driving the R34 GT-R – it puts such a big smile on my face," Roets said. "It's got good power and the handling is fantastic. I never thought we'd end up on the podium, so I'm really happy. I had a blast on Classic Car Friday, and we'll be back next year."
Then there was the King of the Swifts, which turned out to be one of the weekend's hidden gems. Sam Da Fonseca was the man to beat among the four Suzuki Swift drivers, and his performance meant something extra – this was his first real taste of competitive hillclimbing.
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Avon Middleton finished second in the Swift bunch and took it on the chin with a smile. "Look, I came second in the group, which isn't where I wanted to be, so there's a bit of disappointment. But I found three seconds over the weekend, and one second just today, so I'm actually really happy with how I drove."
Brendon Carpenter from Suzuki Auto South Africa said the whole Swift concept worked exactly like they'd hoped. "For us, it's about showing that we're a fun brand and that our cars are accessible. The Swift is exactly that. We like to say that horsepower stands for 'hope pret' – plenty of fun – and that's been our approach from the start."
The Spirit of Dave Charlton trophy, which goes to the team that best captures that late SA racing legend's obsession with detail and preparation, was handed to the G&H Transport Racing father-and-son combo of Giacomo and Ricky Giannoccaro for the main competition. On Classic Car Friday, the nod went to Arnold du Plessis and his BB Motorsport crew.
When all was said and done, with the sun setting over the hills and the last trailer being loaded up, the 16th Simola Hillclimb had done what it always does – remind everyone why this event is the king of South African motoring gatherings. The cars are back in their garages now, but you can bet the mechanics are already tinkering for 2027.
Colin Windell for Colin-on-Cars in association with
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