2018 KNYSNA SPEED FESTIVAL

The Simola Hillclimb was held for the first time in 2009. It was a success and showed Goodwood / Pikes Peak level of potential for the future. Simola is a golf estate in the very stick up the bum town of Knysna so no one thought this would last very long. Surely the snobs would have complained about the noise and pollution being introduced into their precious forest. If they did, it did not work. It’s still here today and stronger than ever. I attended the 2010 Hillclimb and enjoyed it immensely. The do or die one last run for the glory style racing is epic and extremely competitive. The event has evolved, become more organized due to sponsorship mainly from Jaguar and Motul.

So this is the event schedule:

3 May Thursday: Practice and car shows. It’s basically the ultimate pissing contest between racers.

4 May Friday: King Of The Hill Classics. I am still very sour about this because this part was not advertised very well. Me and my family left for Knysna Friday morning and then realised that we missed the classic racing while we attended the “park off” of all the modern racecars in the streets. They should make less runs on the Saturday and try and include the classics over the weekend.

5 May Saturday: Modern cars and single seaters practice and Qualifying.

6 May Saturday: Modern cars and single seaters warm up, final qualifying and King Of The Hill Shootout.

All ticket sales are online and the whole event is cashless. Cashless meaning you do not pay for drinks or food with actual coins or notes. When entering the premises, they take your name and ID number and can check how many tickets you bought. They hand you over these arm bands which can regulate where you can go and money can be uploaded. When you want to buy food, they scan your arm band and the price of the item is deducted from the amount of money uploaded to the arm band. If you want to go to the pit area or to the grandstand, your arm band gets scanned to see if this ticket holder paid for access to these facilities. A very modern setup.

This is the armband. The white tag gets scanned for food purchase and grandstand entrance.

This is the armband. The white tag gets scanned for food purchase and grandstand entrance.

The event was not without fault however. Let me take you through the pros and cons of this year’s event.

Pros:

The Spectacle:

The Simola Hillclimb is a truly unique event for South Africa since it is the only hillclimb held on the racing calendar. It is also very rare to witness 1000+hp GTR’s and Porsches, Time Attack style single seaters and classic 60’s Ford racecars all together in one event. It is very much a South African petrolhead’s weekend in motoring heaven.

Pit snap

Pit snap

The Variety:

One my favourite moments of the weekend was walking through the forest on a pathway to the pits with my brother. You would here a car coming up and immediately know what it is before you get a tiny glimpse through the trees. For example there were many different six cylinder cars there. 997 GT3RS, R32 R34 & R35 GTR’s, Alfa Giulia’s, new Jaaaaaggggg XE’s, BMW E46 M3’s (normally aspirated & turbocharged), etc, and you can always recognise which one is coming. The same thing with the V8’s. There is bound to be something that you like and that is why it is so successful.

Above is some of the six cylinder cars.

The Racing:

I am a big fan of hillclimb racing because you have to go as fast as you can. End of story. There is no team strategies or saving tires to reach the end. You can’t force an opponent to make a mistake or even see if you are catching up. You race yourself and channel your inner Gilles Villneuve to go as fast as possible to try and win. It makes for great racing.

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Anton Cronje's modded Subaru.

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Martin van Zummeran in his insane Nissan GTR R34

Cons:

Seats:

There is no real spectator sitting areas except the ones you pay out of your arse for. I paid R200 extra (about $17 US or ₤13 UK) per ticket (5 of us so R1000) to have a seat on the new so called “Grandstand”. Now it was not that bad except it was 30+ degrees celcius the entire weekend and the Grandstand does not have any shade. Also it is just a bench you are sitting on with no backrest which can be a problem if you are planning to sit there for more than an hour or if you are slightly older. There are more expensive seats like the Pistonclub and Jaguar VIP which are a minimum of a R1000 per person but then you are right next to the start line, the pit area and a bar.

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This the view from the "grandstand". Willie Hepburn's 7L Opel Rekord on maximum attack.

The Hill Is Your Enemy:

The spectators entrance is a little bridge built over the road around about halfway up the Hillclimb. Now we have to walk 1km down a 40ish degree slope to reach our so called grandstand and pit area to see the cars. Remember that walk through the forest with my brother I talked about earlier. That walk nearly killed us. The pathway to and from the pits is so steep and so physically wearing you can immediately spot someone who did the journey. They are typically drenched in sweat with an expression of deep regret on their face.

Alcohol:

I do not really drink so this was not a real problem for me but it still is a problem. You are only allowed to consume any alcoholic beverage in the small area of the Beer tent or bar you bought it from. So you have stand in the middle of a little square section full of strangers and hastily drink your mid strength beer so that you do not miss too much of the racing. Fucked up. The prices were eye watering too.

Food Stands:

At a racing event there should only be four things you are allowed to sell food wise which are, Hot Dogs, Burgers, Chips and Donuts. Not French toast with an option of peanut butter and banana or blueberries with cream. It should be something that fills you up properly and ruin your diet. The prices were ridiculous too.

That is that. You blew a shitload of money to see some cars drive up a steep hill. Totally worth it. I hope you enjoyed the article with the pics and videos of my experience. Tell me what you think of the event. Here is a small V8 powered photo gallery.