ed_z
New member
Hey there Guys and GIRLS
Awesome event.
Renault and Simola really did a exceptional job of this event and we will be going down next year and every year but this time with full BMW support team and van with all the correct tyre compounds and other go fast goodies.
Well organised and marshals were fantastic not a hickup the entire weekend.
So here goes:
Arrived on the Thursday evening in Knysna and packed out all our stuff at the Drifters BnB which was awesome and food was great. The Drifters BnB is 2 minutes away from the actuall Hill Climb and the Simola estate so this was nice and convenient, friendly people as well.
Friday we left for the Simola Estate and conference centre to do documentation then off to the Waterfront for scrutineering and then later the afternoon a town parade which was great followed by the normal kak praat session in the parking lot afterwards.
Saturday drivers briefing at 8am and i was really nervous. The format is they start with the last driver way down in the pits number 80 and then each i gets instructed by the marshals to pull out in succession really quickly one after the other and the entire process lasts 10-15 minutes and everyone has done the first run you then follow the road through the estate back to the pits and park in your designated pits. This all happens 8-10 times through out the day. So my 1st run i did a 56 second and came down the 2nd run to 52 seconds and last couple of runs 51 seconds. It is mind boggling fast and some corners were taken at over 160km/h! Hill Climb is 1.8 kms long so you really have to peddle it up and there is not time for mistakes otherwise you are off like a bunch of guys showed us loosing a scirocco, subaru, renault rs 250 cup and some other cars as well.
Sunday drivers briefing at 8am and off to the cars to get ready for the last practise runs then qualifying rounds and the finals later the afternoon. I was set on breaking 50 seconds and i ran a 50.301 and 50.302 and 50.350 and was certain i could break this 50 second barrier whilst the Mazda Rotary turbo broke a gearbox, RGM charged 350 Z blew up motor, Willie de Beer had limp mode issues with his Lotus Toyota turbo charged exige, Volvo S40 T5 broke down with electrical issues and i was left to contend with Shane Gutzeit in a 800 HP Nissan GTR full track/ Race car with race semis and tyre warmers keeping in mind i was on road tyres no tyre warmers and running 6 seconds off his pace on a cold track ambient being less than 16 degrees the entire day and battling with traction i finally did it in the Finals top of class top 3 drivers from our class ran a 49 second and broke that barrier! I was ecstatic and took second in my class A3 with Shane Gutzeit winning and we managed to finish in the top 20 out of 80 cars so i was very happy. Also keep in mind we drove the car down did the event and drove back up home where the most of the cars were trailered down so much respect to the 1M in being so versatile.
Car has 3-5 seconds in it on the correct compound and tyre choice with warmers and the new suspension so next year we will make sure we have the correct tyres and setup.
The winner was Jade Gutzeit whom i know from the Enduro motorcycling racing and he was on it the entire weekend with his 1000HP Top Secret Skyline which was absolutely STUPID FAST FAST AND REALLY FAST. His Father came in second 1000s of a second slower with Jakkie Schekter a sublime flat 42 with a realtively modded Skyline R35 which was in my opinion a brilliant run for what was under him. No doubt you guys must catch this event on TV and if any of you guys know when please post here as im looking out for it as well
All in all a really well organised professinal and safe Hill Climb that will be seeing me every year thanks Renault Simola Knysna for the use of the Hill Climb!:thumbs:
Awesome event.
Renault and Simola really did a exceptional job of this event and we will be going down next year and every year but this time with full BMW support team and van with all the correct tyre compounds and other go fast goodies.
Well organised and marshals were fantastic not a hickup the entire weekend.
So here goes:
Arrived on the Thursday evening in Knysna and packed out all our stuff at the Drifters BnB which was awesome and food was great. The Drifters BnB is 2 minutes away from the actuall Hill Climb and the Simola estate so this was nice and convenient, friendly people as well.
Friday we left for the Simola Estate and conference centre to do documentation then off to the Waterfront for scrutineering and then later the afternoon a town parade which was great followed by the normal kak praat session in the parking lot afterwards.
Saturday drivers briefing at 8am and i was really nervous. The format is they start with the last driver way down in the pits number 80 and then each i gets instructed by the marshals to pull out in succession really quickly one after the other and the entire process lasts 10-15 minutes and everyone has done the first run you then follow the road through the estate back to the pits and park in your designated pits. This all happens 8-10 times through out the day. So my 1st run i did a 56 second and came down the 2nd run to 52 seconds and last couple of runs 51 seconds. It is mind boggling fast and some corners were taken at over 160km/h! Hill Climb is 1.8 kms long so you really have to peddle it up and there is not time for mistakes otherwise you are off like a bunch of guys showed us loosing a scirocco, subaru, renault rs 250 cup and some other cars as well.
Sunday drivers briefing at 8am and off to the cars to get ready for the last practise runs then qualifying rounds and the finals later the afternoon. I was set on breaking 50 seconds and i ran a 50.301 and 50.302 and 50.350 and was certain i could break this 50 second barrier whilst the Mazda Rotary turbo broke a gearbox, RGM charged 350 Z blew up motor, Willie de Beer had limp mode issues with his Lotus Toyota turbo charged exige, Volvo S40 T5 broke down with electrical issues and i was left to contend with Shane Gutzeit in a 800 HP Nissan GTR full track/ Race car with race semis and tyre warmers keeping in mind i was on road tyres no tyre warmers and running 6 seconds off his pace on a cold track ambient being less than 16 degrees the entire day and battling with traction i finally did it in the Finals top of class top 3 drivers from our class ran a 49 second and broke that barrier! I was ecstatic and took second in my class A3 with Shane Gutzeit winning and we managed to finish in the top 20 out of 80 cars so i was very happy. Also keep in mind we drove the car down did the event and drove back up home where the most of the cars were trailered down so much respect to the 1M in being so versatile.
Car has 3-5 seconds in it on the correct compound and tyre choice with warmers and the new suspension so next year we will make sure we have the correct tyres and setup.
The winner was Jade Gutzeit whom i know from the Enduro motorcycling racing and he was on it the entire weekend with his 1000HP Top Secret Skyline which was absolutely STUPID FAST FAST AND REALLY FAST. His Father came in second 1000s of a second slower with Jakkie Schekter a sublime flat 42 with a realtively modded Skyline R35 which was in my opinion a brilliant run for what was under him. No doubt you guys must catch this event on TV and if any of you guys know when please post here as im looking out for it as well
All in all a really well organised professinal and safe Hill Climb that will be seeing me every year thanks Renault Simola Knysna for the use of the Hill Climb!:thumbs:
raise:
