- Volkswagen Motorsport is upping the ante once again by bringing seven-time World Rallycross champion Johan Kristoffersson to compete at 15th Simola Hillclimb in 2023 title-winning all-electric WRX Polo RX1e
- Five-time Modified Saloon Car winner and current record-holder Franco Scribante will resume ongoing battle of the Nissan R35 GT-Rs with Reghard Roets
- Formidable line-up of other contenders for this year’s title in extremely powerful and fast cars, including reigning champion Dawie Joubert, 2021 winner Pieter Zeelie, Charl Joubert, Wade van Zummeren, Silvio and Aldo Scribante … and many more!
The Modified Saloon Car category at the Simola Hillclimb has always delivered an epic battle of power and performance. The 15th edition, which takes place from 1 to 4 May 2025, ups the ante even further with an exceptional list of serious contenders for the title, including a superstar international driver.
Volkswagen Group Africa is raising the stakes by bringing seven-time World Rallycross champion Johan Kristoffersson to compete at this year’s Simola Hillclimb. The Swedish ace will be behind the wheel of his championship-winning Volkswagen Polo RX1e – an all-electric car that dominated the 2022 and 2023 World Rallycross Championship (WRX). Kristoffersson powered his way to eight wins from 10 rounds to take his fifth title with the Polo RX1e, and repeated the feat the following year before switching to a sustainably-fuelled Polo KMS 601 RX for the 2024 season, taking the championship title yet again.
“We are thrilled to have Johan Kristoffersen joining us for the 15th Simola Hillclimb, and appreciate the immense effort Volkswagen has gone to in order to bring a driver of his calibre and status, along with his championship-winning car, to compete at our event,” says Ian Shrosbree, MD of Knysna Speed Festival which owns the Simola Hillclimb.
“Petter Solberg’s participation in 2023, which was also courtesy of Volkswagen, was a huge success and elevated the Simola Hillclimb to new heights, both locally and internationally. We have no doubt that having Kristoffersen and the Polo RX1e here will raise the bar once again, delighting the fans and spectators, and providing even stiffer competition for the Modified Saloon Car King of the Hill title,” Shrosbree says.
Although Kristoffersson is best known for his WRX exploits, he has also competed with great success in Swedish, Scandinavian and international touring car and GT racing, and is a two-time Extreme E winner with Rosberg X Racing in 2021 and 2023. Accordingly, he is certain to be a top contender for the King of the Hill this year.
The Polo RX1e will be the only vehicle competing in class B8 for electric and alternative energy vehicles, but Kristoffersson will be up against a bevvy of established Modified Saloon Car heavy-hitters and previous winners as the event builds up to the all-or-nothing Top 10 Shootout on Sunday afternoon.
One of the Polo RX1e’s main advantages will be the instant performance delivered by its 500 kW electric drivetrain, which catapults the car from zero to 100 km/h in just 1.8 seconds. As with Solberg’s campaign two years ago behind the wheel of Kristoffersson’s title-winning 2018 Polo R WRX Supercar, the Polo RX1e may lose out on top speed on the fast uphill straight that links turns two and three. But what it lacks in top-end pace will undoubtedly be made up on the rest of the tight and twisty 1.9 km Simola Hill course thanks to the car’s extremely low weight and astonishing agility – along with Kristoffersson’s obvious talent and experience with this car.
Playing the power game, Franco Scribante’s radical multi-winged 2019 Nissan R35 GT-R is rumoured to have an estimated 1 600 hp (over 1 175 kW) on tap. This makes his car, which is known as ‘The Sheriff’, one of the wildest and fastest cars in the world, capable of topping 250 km/h on the Simola Hillclimb’s longest straight. However, the challenge for the five-time winner is putting all of that power down effectively on this event’s brutal standing start launch. This was proven last year when the gearbox was damaged on the final qualifying run, leaving his bid for a sixth win in tatters.
There’s little doubt that Scribante and his team have been working tirelessly to make the car even more robust and effective on full-power launches over the past 12 months, and are aiming to break his current Modified Saloon Car record of 38.129 seconds from 2022.
As ever, there will be an enthralling tussle between Scribante and the BB Motorsport Nissan R35 GT-R driven by Reghard Roets for the class B5 honours and the overall win. Significantly different in concept to the time attack-inspired aerodynamics on Scribante’s car, ‘Armageddon’, as Roets’ car is known, uses a far simpler aero package that seems just as effective. The two rivals traded fastest times during practice and qualifying last year, but Roets also dropped out of contention with a broken front differential after a full-power start in the final qualifying session. Although he has three consecutive King of the Hill titles under his belt in the Road Car and Supercar category, Roets is more determined than ever to secure his first Modified Saloon Car win this year.
Long list of protagonists
While Kristoffersson, Scribante and Roets will be amongst the crowd and title favourites for the 15th Simola Hillclimb, they will need to beat a long list of other protagonists who are equally up to the task.
Dawie Joubert proved that his lightweight rear-wheel drive Ferrari 488-powered Lotus Exige can mix it up with the best of the four-wheel drive machines, as he blasted his way to victory last year with an impressive time of 38.405 seconds. Notably, his best qualifying time of 38.291 seconds was a mere 0.162 sec off Scribante’s official record, so expect a strong challenge for class B4 and overall honours.
Pieter Zeelie, the 2021 winner in his Toyota MR2 Super GT, was just a tenth slower than Joubert’s time in the Top 10 Shootout last year so he will also be in the mix, along with Charl Joubert who finished third in his Honda V6-powered Lotus Elise – both of which are also rear-wheel drive cars. The Czank Racing entries will be dark horses, also competing in B4. Devin Robertson powered the Nissan GT-R-powered Lotus Exige to fourth place overall in 2024, and he will be joined by Craig Czank in a similar car fitted with a turbocharged Volkswagen VR32 engine.
Wade van Zummeren is a driver who puts everything spectacularly on the line every time he gets behind the wheel of a race car. After his wild outings in his custom-built rear-wheel drive Nissan R34 GT-R last year, he has moved to the four-wheel drive class B5 in a similar car and should be in with a shout too. He will be joined by brother Jody in a R32 GT-R.
The Scribante brothers from Gqeberha, Aldo and Silvio, have regularly proven their pace to make it into the final shootout, and they are likely to be strong challengers in the four-wheel drive class B5, as well as in the overall results. Aldo will be competing in his extensively modified ex-Production Car racing Audi S4, while Silvio returns in the time attack Audi RS3 that he imported from Sweden just before last year’s event. A series of niggles and a damaged gearbox prematurely ended Silvio’s weekend on the opening day of the 2024 King of the Hill, and he will be hoping for a hassle-free campaign this year.
Class B7 for eight-cylinder cars and above will feature Giacomo Giannoccaro in his BMW Z4 GT3 that features a thunderous NASCAR-derived 7.0-litre Hendrickson V8, along with his son Ricardo in a GT3-spec Mercedes-AMG GT. They are joined by Pieter Joubert in a Mercedes-AMG SLS-powered Lotus Exige, and Mike Verrier in a Chevrolet LS7-driven BMW Z4.
There are two racing Porsches in B6 for six-cylinder cars, comprising Charl Arrangies in a 2021 911 GT3R, and Willie de Beer in his 2008 GT3 Cup car. The four-cylinder four-wheel drive entries in class B3 comprise Lee Thompson in a 2022 Volkswagen Polo 6R that is fitted with a 2.4-litre Honda engine, Anton Cronje in his rapid 2013 Subaru Impreza WRX STi, and Jared Rossouw in a Volkswagen Golf 6R.
Class B2 for two-wheel drive four-cylinder machines will resume the battle between the two Volkswagen Motorsport factory racing drivers in the quick Polo SupaCup cars. Jonathan Mogotsi will be aiming to go one up on team-mate and last year’s class winner, Daniel Rowe. They will also have to contend with Owen Bridger in his 2007 Honda Civic Type-R, Kashen Naicker in a 2.0-litre VW-powered Lotus Exige, and Louis Cloete in the unusual Subaru-engined Volkswagen Beetle.
The naturally aspirated four-cylinder class B1 will be a two-way affair between MasterDrive Driver Search winner Tarique Zietsman in the 2007 Ford Fiesta ST and Farhad Alli in a 1995 BMW ti. At the opposite end of the size and weight spectrum, class B9 for SUVs and bakkies will see Arnold du Plessis back in action in BB Motorsport’s 396kW supercharged V8 2022 Nissan Patrol Black Hawk, going up against Janus Janse van Rensburg in a 2025 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio.
Modified street cars
The modified street car class (B10) was introduced last year to accommodate tuned cars that remain street-legal. Renowned former Group N and touring car racer Farouk Dangor is set to compete in a 2001 Nissan R34 GT-R in place of the R35 he raced last year. His rivals comprise Giovanni Fantin in a 2018 Audi RS3, and Martin van Zummeren who has made the switch from his explosive Nissan R34 GT-R race car and will be driving a 1997 R33 GT-R.
The 15th edition of the Simola Hillclimb takes place from 1 to 4 May 2025.
More information and online ticket sales are available on the Simola Hillclimb website: www.simolahillclimb.com
