KNYSNA, South Africa, 2 May 2026 – The opening day of King of the Hill at the 16th edition of the Simola Hillclimb has been filled with action and excitement, and a trio of former or defending champions ruling the roost thus far.
With four practice runs and three qualifying sessions playing out on the 1.9 km Simola Hill today, Robert Wolk was the class of the field in overall times, and more specifically in Class C for the thoroughbred Single Seaters, Sports Cars and Sports Prototypes. His best qualifying run of 35.314 seconds was achieved in Q3 in the 2005 Gould GR55.
Unfortunately the highly anticipated challenge from Andre Bezuidenhout never materialised as the recently rebuilt engine on his 2007 Gould GR55 was damaged during pre-event testing. This handed Wolk a 4.4 second advantage at the end of the day one over his nearest rival, Devin Robertson in the 1995 Radical Pro Sport (39.743 sec), with third-placed Ian Schofield, the winner of this year’s Classic Car Friday, a further 2 seconds adrift in the 2018 Formula Ford (41.872 sec).
“We’ve been running used tyres today, so tomorrow we will fit new tyres which will give us a bit of an edge,” Wolk said. “Also, we have been working on the launch the whole day, so there’s more time to come there, and we have some fine-tuning to do on the engine. Overall I think the balance is good and consistent, and I’m happy and comfortable with the car.”
The question on everyone’s mind is whether Bezuidenhout’s outright Simola Hillclimb record of 34.161 seconds will be beaten this year, especially with the first half of the course having been resurfaced. “It’s hard to say as we haven’t really tested the new tyres, but it will be nice to break into the 34s tomorrow morning and then push from there,” Wolk said.
In the ultra-competitive Class B for Modified Saloon Cars, there’s an exceptionally close battle between defending champion Pieter Zeelie in his 2002 Toyota MR2, and the Scribante cousins – Silvio in the 2006 Audi RS3, and five-time winner Franco in his wild 2018 Nissan R35 GT-R.
Zeelie wrapped up the first day with the best qualifying time of 38.747 seconds, but this was 1.6 seconds slower than the 37.090 second class record he set last year. Silvio is hot on his heels on 38.868 seconds, with Franco less than three-tenths behind on 39.150 seconds.
“We had a reasonable day, and I went faster than I did at this point last year, but I was hoping for more. I’m finding the Turn 2 right-hander before the long uphill straight a bit slower and I’m battling to find decent grip there, which has a big impact on my speed up the hill,” Zeelie said. “I can probably make up another second with new tyres, and we have more engine boost to play with tomorrow. This should take us into the 37s, but at this stage I don’t think it will be possible to match or beat my time from last year.”
Aldo Scribante is also in contention with his newly built Audi TT after going fourth, on 40.208 seconds, on the car’s debut. Steve Clark was fifth (40.614 sec) in his Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R, while Reghard Roets had to settle for sixth place (40.882 sec) as the team works to resolve technical niggles with his R35 GT-R.
In Class A for standard production Road Cars and Supercars, 2025 winner Clint Weston dominated the day in the mighty hybrid-powered Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance. He led every session, and wrapped up the first day with a best time of 42.273 seconds. Notably, this is six-tenths quicker than the current class record of 42.935 seconds held by JP van der Walt from 2024 in a Porsche 911 Turbo S – a time Weston beat by 0.044 sec on the day’s opening practice run, and 0.3 sec faster than his winning time from last year.
Cristiano Verolini, the 2025 runner-up, was second-fastest in the 2026 BMW M4 (43.872 sec), one tenth off his Top 10 Shootout result from last year. German factory BMW racing driver Jens Klingmann is competing in his first hillclimb event in the latest hybrid-powered 2026 BMW M5. Despite no prior experience on the Simola Hill, he rapidly improved his times throughout the day, and ended third on 45.193 seconds.
“I’ve had to learn and adapt to the track very quickly which has been a big challenge, but on the last two qualifying runs I was consistent and I think that’s just about what the car can do,” Klingmann said. “We might be able to find a little bit more time if I match everything together, and I’m looking forward to competing again tomorrow.
“This experience has been great fun, and the Simola Hillclimb environment has been so welcoming with everyone like one big family,” he said. “We will keep pushing, but for me it’s about the community and the vibe here which is really unique, and I’m enjoying just being in the paddock and chatting to everyone. I am already a huge fan of this event, and I would like to come back again.”
Sunday’s action starts off with a warm-up session at 09h05, followed by the final three qualifying rounds. The best qualifying times will determine the top three competitors from each of the various classes that make it into the Class Finals one-run dash.
The top 10 overall contenders from each main category then battle it out for the respective King of the Hill titles for Road Cars and Supercars; Modified Saloon Cars; and Single Seaters, Sports Cars and Sports Prototypes.
Full action livestream
For fans in South Africa and around the world who aren’t able to attend the Simola Hillclimb, the entire event is being livestreamed.
The broadcast includes all of the on-track action, a team of expert hosts, and behind-the-scenes insight and updates direct from the pitlane. The livestream can be accessed from the Simola Hillclimb website, Facebook page and YouTube channel – links are all available on www.simolahillclimb.com.
The 16th edition of the Simola Hillclimb takes place from 30 April to 3 May 2026.
For more information and ticket sales, visit the website: www.simolahillclimb.com
Published by: Colin Mileman
MSA Publishes media releases from a host of different sources on our website as a service to the sport. It is not practically possible to vet/approve every release that is published. Some news items and articles are written by correspondents and do not necessarily represent MSA’s views.