- Sean Nurse 3rd in Class B9, driving a Suzuki Jimny 3-door
- Strong performances by all three Suzuki entries
- Condolences poured in after tragic passing of Pieter Joubert
The final day of the 2025 Simola Hillclimb saw Suzuki Auto South Africa’s three entries once again punch well above their weight, with Sean Nurse putting the 3-door Jimny on the Class B9 (for SUVs) podium in third place. Admittedly, there were only three entries in the class, but the diminutive Japanese icon stood its ground throughout the weekend, with Nurse continuously improving on his times.
For Ernest Page, making it into the Class Finals proved a bridge too far, as the ALL THINGS MOTORING presenter and owner of Performance with Page had been running at the back of Class A1 all weekend. Despite this, the seasoned driver had a blast at the Hillclimb, and was full of praise for the 1.2-litre-powered Suzuki Swift GLX that he raced this weekend:
“A fantastic experience, I was smiling the entire time. Overall, I’m happy with the car’s performance and we also averaged a consumption of only 5.7 litres per 100km over the entire day. The new Swift GLX is clearly a safe, fast, fun car for the right person.”
While Page’s best time over the weekend was a 1min 4.8sec, Jeanette Kok-Kritzinger had the benefit of a turbo-charged 1.4-litre engine in her 3rd gen Suzuki Swift Sport. The Boosterjet engine, coupled to a six-speed automatic transmission, gave the Wiele2Wiele presenter silky smooth pullaways off the line, and the standard steering-mounted gear paddles made it easy for her to select the best gear during the 1.9km run up the Simola Hill in Knysna.
Kok-Kritzinger summed up the final day of the event from her perspective: “What an awesome, fantastic experience! For me, my performance is a personal victory. Yes, I missed out at the class final, but what a privilege to be here. What a privilege to be part of this world-class event. Just brilliant!”
In the end, her best Qualifying time of 56.538sec left her just outside the Class Finals, bringing an end to her 2025 Simola Hillclimb experience. While a spot in the finals eluded her, Kok-Kritzinger had nothing but praise for the Suzuki Swift Sport, which continues to punch far above its weight, competing against cars with significantly more power.
For Nurse there was a spot on the class podium after a tricky weekend in Knysna. The AutoTrader writer was initially somewhat surprised by the stability of the Jimny, despite the car’s undeniable 4×4 credentials. As the weekend wore on, Nurse continued to chip away at his times, having started around the 1min 09sec mark. By the time he tackled the final Qualifying sessions, his time had come down to the 1min 06.720sec. This was still some way behind the two cars ahead of him in Class B9, but with only three entries in the class, Nurse was guaranteed a spot in the finals. He made the most of the opportunity, setting a time of 1min 6.404sec in his final run.
“It’s been an awesome weekend, and I had a lot of fun. I think the Jimny surprised a lot of people with the times it’s managed up the hill. I was here to compete against myself and to have a little bit of fun; and to show people that the Jimny is more dynamic than most people probably expect. A podium is a podium, there’re no remarks on a trophy – it just says you came third in your class at Simola Hillclimb. I’ll keep that with me forever, and it’s been an awesome experience,” concluded Nurse.
Interestingly, the Jimny’s power-to-weight ratio is 68.2kW per ton. The car that finished second in Class B1 had a power-to-weight ratio of 134.5kW per ton, giving some perspective to the Jimny’s stellar performance relative to its competition.
This capped a great weekend for Suzuki at the 2025 Simola Hillclimb, as Suzuki’s Brand Marketing Manager, Brendon Carpenter, explained: “First of all, on behalf of Team Suzuki, we’d like to express our deepest condolences to the Joubert family. It is a very sad day for motorsport in South Africa, and specifically for the Simola Hillclimb. The drivers, at their own discretion, decided to participate in the remainder of the event, as per the request of the Joubert family. I think they’ve put on a really good show despite the somber mood. The Jimny reached the Class Final by default, inheriting third place, but I think to be just over 10 seconds off second place with a 1.5-litre four-cylinder was a great result. The rest of the drivers said that they had a lot of fun, and I think for us that is what it’s all about, and that’s the win in our case. For Suzuki, we are very, very proud of the team, of the participation, but then also of the success of the event.”
This year saw the 15th running of the Simola Hillclimb, and the 5th year of Suzuki sponsorship of the event. It is widely regarded as one of the premiere motorsport events on the South African calendar, and remains a firm favourite with fans and competitors alike.
