Entries have opened for the 16th Simola Hillclimb, which takes place in Knysna from April 30 to May 3 2026. Racers compete against the clock for the fastest times up the tight and twisty 1.9km Simola Hill in various classes.
The Simola Hillclimb is an invitational event with all requests for invitation submitted at wwww.simolahillclimb.com. Applications close on January 31 2026 and the accepted drivers will receive their invitations to participate by February 14.
“Over the past 15 editions, the Simola Hillclimb’s growth in support and popularity has been achieved by keeping the line-up and variety of cars and drivers fresh and interesting,” said Leon Smith, Simola Hillclimb’s sporting director.
“The event continues to evolve, and we have expanded the eligible dates across most of the classes in Classic Car Friday for next year to broaden the scope of entries. We have adapted the regulations to accommodate the legendary Stannic Group N Production Cars that produced thrilling battles across the country’s circuits during the 1990s and early 2000s, and established the careers of many of SA’s top racing drivers,” Smith said.
A total of 65 slots are available for Classic Car Friday on May 1. The entrants are spread across 10 classes based on vehicle type, age and engine capacity. This accounts for road-going cars, racing saloon cars, open-wheel single-seaters, racing sports cars and GTs, and pre-World War II cars.
The two-day King of the Hill features the most powerful cars in SA. It features the country’s top racing drivers and has also attracted international stars including the likes of eight-time World Rallycross (WRX) champion for Volkswagen, Johan Kristofferson; WRX and World Rally Champion Petter Solberg; and former F1 star Mika Salo.
Of the 84 slots available, the field is split into three categories. Class A is for standard production road-legal cars, with eight classes featuring everything from compact hot hatches and supercars to hybrids and electric vehicles. Clint Weston is the reigning King of the Hill in this category, having powered the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 SE E Performance to a winning time of 43.174 seconds.
The big guns battle it out in class B for Modified Saloon cars with race-tuned machines. There are 10 classes catering for a wide range of cars and engines, including a class for alternative energy vehicles (hybrids and EVs), and one for bakkies and sport utility vehicles. This category is also home to modified street cars, enabling highly-tuned street-legal machines to compete against each other.
Regular international hillclimb competitor Pieter Zeelie set a record-breaking time of 37.090 seconds this year to secure his second King of the Hill title in his Toyota MR2 Super GT.
Thoroughbred single-seaters, sports cars and sports prototypes compete in class C, with seven sub-classes based on vehicle type and engine capacity. One of the classes also accommodates electric, hybrid and other alternative energy vehicles.
Bezuidenhout holds the outright class C record of 34.161 seconds in his Gould GR55 hillclimb racer in 2022.
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