The 15th edition of the annual Simola Hillclimb in 2025 firmly cemented its status as South Africa’s premier motoring and motorsport lifestyle event. A record attendance of 20 244 spectators over the three days, comprising Classic Car Friday and two-day King of the Hill, reinforced the Simola Hillclimb as the must-attend event of the year.
Next year will see the 16th edition take place in Knysna from 30 April to 3 May 2026, with the event continuing to evolve and attract a diverse range of exciting cars and the best drivers from South Africa, and abroad.
The significance of the Simola Hillclimb’s contribution to putting Knysna on the local and international map was recognised with it being voted ‘Best Event Organiser’ in the Best of Knysna & Plett Reader’s Choice Awards for 2025.
“Winning this award isn’t just a moment of pride, it’s a recognition of the relentless pursuit of perfection that happens long before the start flag waves,” says Ian Shrosbree, MD of the Knynsa Speed Festival, which owns and runs the Simola Hillclimb. “From logistics to hospitality, safety to spectacle, the team behind ‘The World’s Fastest Hillclimb’ delivers excellence every step of the way. This award is a well-deserved acknowledgement of their tireless efforts behind the scenes to deliver this world-class event.”
Continuous evolution has been integral to the Simola Hillclimb’s ongoing growth and success, adapting and changing to suit the competitors, vehicle manufacturers and importers, sponsors, and, of course, the all-important spectators.
The sporting side of the Simola Hillclimb is now being led by Leon Smith, following the retirement of Geoff Goddard who served as the sporting director through each one of the past 15 editions.
“I have been living in Knysna for nearly 14 years and, as an avid motorsport enthusiast, the Simola Hillclimb has always been a highlight for me. One day, I received a call that would change everything – an invitation to meet one of my motorsport heroes in South Africa, Geoff Goddard, and to assist him,” Smith says.
“I have now been involved with the Simola Hillclimb for five years, working and learning from Geoff in preparing the pit area, managing track safety in the build-up, coordinating race car transporter logistics, and serving as competitor liaison throughout the three-day event. Geoff’s knowledge and experience in motorsport are irreplaceable, but it has been an honour to learn from him,” Smith adds.
Classic Car Friday changes
For 2026, the organisers have expanded the range of cars that will be eligible for Classic Car Friday on 1 May, which is sure to attract an even more exciting range of entry applications. The Simola Hillclimb remains a strictly invitational event, enabling the organisers to select the very best line-up of cars and drivers to keep spectators enthralled, and ensure great competition on the 1.9 km Simola Hill course.
“We have increased the eligible dates of manufacture by between three and five years for several of the classes in Classic Car Friday, thereby broadening the field of potential entries,” Smith says.
“Probably the most important change is allowing racing saloon cars produced from 1976 up to and including 2005 in H7 for four-cylinder machines and H8 for six cylinders and above. This opens up these classes for the legendary Group N production cars that headlined our circuit racing during the period, and were crowd favourites across the country,” Smith says. “Many of these cars are still around in various collections, and we look forward to hopefully adding them to the line-up next year.”
The older racing saloons in H5 (four cylinders) and H6 (rotary, six cylinders and above) have a cut-off date at the end of 1975.
Classes H9 (open-wheel single-seaters) and H10 (racing sports cars and GTs) have also gained an additional five-year eligibility range up to the end of 1990, as has class H2 (road-going cars with full interior trim), which now encompasses 1975 models.
The cap for road-going cars in H3 (four cylinders) and H4 (rotary, five cylinders and above) has been increased from 1987 to the end of 1990. Class H10 for the vintage pre-war cars has also been revisited to attract entries from modified saloon racing cars of the period – once again using the handicap format to ensure a level playing field for the varied array of ‘golden oldies’.
For King of the Hill, which takes place on 2 and 3 May 2026, the regulations have been tweaked slightly to accommodate engine configurations up to four cylinders, thus making provision for the increasing prevalence of three-cylinder engines in smaller cars. This applies to the relevant classes in the Road-going Saloon Cars and Supercars category (A), Modified Saloon Cars (B), and the Single Seaters, Sports Cars and Sports Prototypes (C).
Safety remains top priority
As always, safety remains the top priority for the organisers of the Simola Hillclimb. Together with Motorsport South Africa, the team is constantly reviewing all elements of the track, and the event as a whole, to enhance the safety of competitors and spectators.
“For this year we have been hard at work increasing our safety measures with the addition of 1 260 new tyres, 2 600 special screws and nuts and over a kilometre of stainless steel strapping. This has been done to upgrade the tyre barriers to FIA specification,” Smith says.
The request for invitation application process for the 16th edition of the Simola Hillclimb opens on 1 October 2025, and closes on 31 January 2026. The event takes place from 30 April to 3 May 2026.
Published by: https://www.speedfestival.co.za
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