2023 Simola Hillclimb set to thrill with diverse array of racing metal

This year reigning double champion JP van der Walt will be looking to bag his third consecutive victory.
Image: Supplied

Motoring enthusiasts around South Africa are gearing up for the 2023 Simola Hillclimb taking place in Knysna from May 4-7. As before this prestigious motorsport event — now in its 13th year — promises to deliver all manner of high-speed thrills in a variety of different vehicular forms. Indeed, scan the entry list and you will find everything from lightweight single-seater race cars right up to super silent (and super powerful) electric vehicles. 

Leading the charge for this year’s Road Car and Supercar King of the Hill challenge is the reigning double champion JP van der Walt, who has one thing in mind — and that’s to make the class his own for a third consecutive year, in a trio of different Porsches. This year Van der Walt will be driving a 992-generation 2021 911 Turbo S after taking the title in a 2016 version last year, and claiming his first win in 2021 with a 2016 911 GT3 RS.

“The 992 Turbo S will probably only really gain time up the hill after Turn 2 with its additional power compared to the old generation I drove last year, but launching off the line is always the biggest challenge for a road car on standard tyres,” he says.

Garth Mackintosh is again campaigning his rapid 2017 McLaren 720s.
Image: Supplied

“Road tyres don’t grip on the rubber laid down on the start line like slicks do. They tend to wheelspin which makes the launch difficult, but I hope to go quicker than last year.”

Along with the overall title, Van der Walt will be vying for class A4 honours for four-wheel drive cars with turbocharged/supercharged five or six-cylinder engines. The only other competitor in the class is Wilhelm Kuun who will be piloting a 2021 Audi TT RS.

There will be numerous rivals from other classes going head-to-head in the Top 10 Shootout for the King of the Hill crown, including last year’s runner-up, Farhaad Ebrahim in a 2020 Toyota Supra that slots into class A3 for two-wheel drive force-fed five/six-cylinder cars. He will have Piet Potgieter (2017 Alfa Romeo Guilia QV) for company in A3, along with the official BMW South Africa entry of Rob Gearing in the all-new 2023 BMW M2, and the privately entered 2019 BMW M240i driven by Martin Wiid.

Shelby South Africa will be bringing six Ford Mustangs to this year's event.
Image: Supplied

Simola Hillclimb regular Gordon Nicholson finished third last year and took the class A6 win (naturally aspirated eight-cylinders and above), and he will be back in action in his screaming 2017 Audi R8 V10 Plus. Garth Mackintosh is sure to be hot on his heels again in the rapid 2017 McLaren 720s that he powered to the fourth-fastest time overall and the class A7 win for force-fed eight-cylinder cars and above.

Shelby South Africa is bringing an impressive contingent of customers and their Ford Mustangs to the 2023 Simola Hillclimb, with two naturally-aspirated V8 Mustangs entered in class A6, along with three supercharged Shelby Super Snakes and the rare Shelby Terlingua competing in A7 — the latter driven by Paige Lindenberg.

They will be joined by MasterDrive’s Eugene Herbert in another Ford Mustang, with the driver training company supplying the event’s safety cars for the third year in a row. MasterDrive is also conducting an exciting driver search programme for a young driver who will compete in class A1 for four-cylinder two-wheel drive cars. This class will also feature two Suzuki Swift Sport entries, along with an official Honda entry that will be announced closer to the event.

Class A2 for four-cylinder four-wheel drive cars will present an intriguing battle between the official Volkswagen South Africa entries, comprising a pair of Golf Rs driven by the company’s top racing drivers — Jonathan Mogotsi and Daniel Rowe. Toyota has also joined the party with an exciting new challenger — the highly anticipated turbocharged four-wheel drive GR Corolla, which will be seen for the first time in South Africa at the Simola Hillclimb, driven by Toyota Gazoo Racing’s young GTC driver, Nathi Msimanga.

The new BMW M2 isn’t the only interesting car that the German manufacturer is bringing to this year’s Simola Hillclimb. After the impressive performance of BMW’s all-electric i4 M50 last year, driven by motoring journalist Ciro de Siena to an impressive ninth place overall in King of the Hill, the company is throwing its weight behind a brace of hi-tech 2023 models that will compete in class A8 for hybrid and electric vehicles.

Cars.co.za motoring journalist Ashley Oldfield will be driving the 480kW plug-in hybrid BMW XM on its South African debut — the first bespoke M performance car since the iconic M1 that debuted in 1978. He will be up against two all-electric vehicles — a 400kW i4 M50 driven by TimesLIVE Motoring scribe Thomas Falkiner, and the new 210kW iX3 piloted by BMW SA test engineer and dynamics driver Bradleigh Boshoff.

Tickets can be purchased on the official event website, with the prices for General Entry remaining unchanged from last year at R150. Upgrades are available for Pit Access, Turn 2 Grandstand seating and VIP Parking. For the ultimate VIP experience, the Le Mans Hospitality Lounge provides mouth-watering catering, an unbeatable viewing point overlooking the start line, as well as General Entry and Pit Access.

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