KNYSNA NEWS - The opening day of King of the Hill at the 16th edition of the Simola Hillclimb delivered high-octane action, with a trio of former and defending champions asserting early dominance across the classes.
With four practice runs and three qualifying sessions completed on the 1.9km Simola Hill, Robert Wolk emerged as the fastest driver overall. Competing in Class C for Single Seaters, Sports Cars and Sports Prototypes, Wolk posted a best time of 35.314 seconds in Q3 in his 2005 Gould GR55.
A much-anticipated challenge from Andre Bezuidenhout failed to materialise after engine damage during pre-event testing sidelined his 2007 Gould GR55.
This left Wolk with a commanding 4.4-second advantage over Devin Robertson (1995 Radical Pro Sport, 39.743 seconds), while Ian Schofield-fresh off his Classic Car Friday victory-was third in a 2018 Formula Ford (41.872 seconds).
Wolk indicated there is more to come: “We’ve been running used tyres today, so tomorrow we will fit new tyres which should give us an edge. We’ve also been working on the launch and have some fine-tuning to do on the engine.”
Attention now turns to whether Bezuidenhout’s outright record of 34.161 seconds could fall, particularly with part of the course recently resurfaced.
In Class B for Modified Saloon Cars, defending champion Pieter Zeelie leads a tightly contested battle. His 38.747-second run in a 2002 Toyota MR2 narrowly edged Silvio Scribante (2006 Audi RS3, 38.868 seconds) and five-time winner Franco Scribante (2018 Nissan GT-R, 39.150 seconds).
“We had a reasonable day, but I was hoping for more,” Zeelie said, citing grip challenges through Turn 2. “New tyres and increased boost should help us improve.”
Aldo Scribante sits fourth in a newly built Audi TT (40.208 seconds), followed by Steve Clark (Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R, 40.614 seconds) and Reghard Roets (Nissan GT-R, 40.882 seconds).
Class A for standard Road Cars and Supercars saw 2025 winner Clint Weston dominate throughout the day in a Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance.
His best time of 42.273 seconds was not only quickest in class but also significantly under the current class record of 42.935 seconds set in 2024.
Cristiano Verolini placed second in a BMW M4 (43.872 seconds), while German factory driver Jens Klingmann impressed on debut in the 2026 BMW M5, finishing third with a time of 45.193 seconds.
“I’ve had to learn the track very quickly, which has been challenging, but it’s been great fun,” Klingmann said. “The atmosphere here is incredible-it feels like one big family.”
Today's (Sunday) programme begins with a warm-up session at 09:05, followed by the final qualifying rounds. The fastest drivers will advance to the Class Finals, with the top 10 contenders in each category battling for King of the Hill honours.
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