With the gates once again open to the public, the 2022 Simola Hillclimb attracted both spectators and competitors in their droves to the infamous hill to see who would be crowned this year's King Of The Hill. Suzuki entered two road-going Swift Sports to challenge the Class A title.
Speed. Either you love it or it scares you. If you’re in the camp of the former you’ve found yourself glued to the TV screen on the weekend, vicariously living through those that race professionally, dreaming of the opportunity to try your hand at motorsport. Motorsport, however, is regarded as the playground of the wealthy. It was best summed up many years ago, stating, “The only way to become a millionaire from motor racing is to start as a billionaire”. It is indeed a discipline that costs money. Or does it?
Suzuki South Africa, determined to dispel myths and prove itself in the crucible of motorsport, has climbed on board as a headline sponsor of the illustrious Simola Hillclimb this year campaigning two Swift Sports. Wesley Greybe and Reuben van Niekerk would be the drivers tasked with not only staying right side up but showing the world what the diminutive Swift Sport is capable of doing.
These two cars, one manual and one automatic, arrived at the track on the Friday before the competition in stock-standard trim, the exact way that you would find one on the dealership floor aside from the vibrant Suzuki livery that adorned the panels. Entered into the A1 class for road cars with 4-cylinders and two-wheel-drive, the duo would be fighting for the title of the fastest production car in the greater Road going saloon cars & Supercars category.
What is the Simola Hillclimb?
Conceptualised and first run in 2009, the Simola Hillclimb fast became the motorsport event of the year attracting attention from both the local racing fraternity and international talent. The race is a timed run up the Simola Estate hill over a distance of 1.9 kilometres and comprises 9 corners. One car tackles the course at a time from a standing start, avoiding the embankment on the left and the sheer plunge down into the ravine on the right.
It has attracted the attention of high-profile competitors and legendary names in both the local and international motorsport arena, the likes of Sarel van der Merwe, Deon Joubert, Ian and Jaki Scheckter, Randy Pobst, Franco Scribante, Des Gutzeit, Reghard Roets, and Mike Briggs amongst numerous others.
Entrants race everything from stock standard road cars to supercars and exotics with the real excitement coming from the purpose-built machines capable of completing the run in under 40-seconds and carrying an average speed of nearly 200 km/h over the duration of the course.
A personal highlight is the Classic Car Friday which opens up the hill to entrants in a variety of vehicles ranging from pre-war-era race cars to pre-1990 race machines. It’s one thing to see one of these historic machines in person but it’s something special when you see them being driven to the limit, in anger, as intended.
Another drawcard is the host of single-seater machines that enter in a bid to claim the title of the King of The Hill. Ranging from contemporary Formula Fords to historic Formula 1 cars, the cacophonous roar of these machines with their aerodynamic aids tearing up the hill is guaranteed to bring out the child in you.
The Swift Sport effort
Wesley and Reuben both approached the 2022 event with caution. Despite having experience up the hill and with the Swift Sport, they’d never combined the two. both drivers set themselves a realistic target of 1:05.000 seconds, hoping that the little hot hatch would be able to call on the full 103 kW derived from its 1.4-litre turbocharged engine to make it up the hill.
Saturday’s practice session started with rather damp conditions, Knysna shrouded in a blanket of fog and persistent rain that showed no sign of letting up. The sodden track hindered performance but the electronic aids of the Swift Sport ensured that the two drivers made it up the hill with no drama.
Reuben van Niekerk at the wheel of the Suzuki Swift Sport Auto
Reuben van Niekerk, piloting the automatic Sport set a time of 1:06.135 on his first pass up the hill, a little over 1-second off of his target time. Wesley Greybe, in the manual Swift Sport, walked away surprised after posting a 1:01.811 in his first pass. Their target of a 1:05 was not only achievable but would have to be altered over the course of the weekend.
As the rain halted and conditions improved, the duo continued to chip away at their times with the new target set on a more realistic sub-1-minute pass. By the third practice session, Wesley had cracked the 1-minute barrier, posting a 59.295-second run and Reuben was only fractions off with a 1:01.391.
By the end of the day, both drivers would manage to post a 55-second time in the qualifying sessions ahead of the King Of The Hill shootout on the Sunday. Greybe posted a 55.079 and van Niekerk was following closely behind with a 55.901.
Wesley Greybe, pleased with his results.
Sunday brought fairer weather and spills of spectators, all clambering to see the giants take on the hill and claim top honours. The Suzuki pairing was hoping to eke out a last few tenths and Greybe’s impressive performance had him aiming for a 54-second pass on the final day.
Competing against only each other and Jared Yeo in a Porsche Cayman 718S meant that podium positions were in sight for both the Suzuki drivers with only the relevant step left to be decided.
Several delays interrupted the concentration of the two drivers as vehicles in the hands of enthusiastic drovers either broke or left the track and needed to be cleared. The team soldiered on and while the outright King Of The Hill title was still 20-seconds away from the times they were posting, a class victory would certainly be welcomed. The Class final saw both drivers post their fastest time for the day with Greybe posting a 54.580 and van Niekerk charging hard with a 54.913. They were ultimately pipped by Yeo with a final time of 49.412-seconds.
Both drivers had done it, they had run a sub-55-second pass on the infamous Simola hill in stock-standard Suzuki Swift Sport production cars, on-road tyres and pump fuel.
So what’s stopping you?
If our two Swift drivers were able to campaign a regular production car and place, what’s stopping you from getting the thrills that you so crave? The Swift Sport retails for R377 900 and is an excellent daily driver with 5-doors, adequate luggage space and excellent fuel economy. The excitable 1.4-litre turbocharged engine has more than enough poke to make it entertaining and as the duo just proved, the mettle to compete in one of the most eagerly anticipated motorsport events of the year. Not only did they compete, but they placed and held the Suzuki name high and proud.
There should be no reason for you not to consider getting a taste of the action. It’s one thing to stand around watching and talking about motorsports but it’s a whole new world when you don that helmet. You don’t need the world’s most expensive race car to get the thrills, you may just need a little Suzuki Swift Sport.
For a full list of results across all the classes, visit Simola Hillclimb
Keyword: Suzuki Swift Sport tackles the prestigious Simola Hillclimb