Epic Battle Looming for King of the Hill Title

 A battle of epic proportions is unfolding in the build-up to the 2015 Jaguar Simola Hillclimb, as reigning and previous champions are set to take on a bevy of new pretenders to the highly revered ‘King of the Hill’ throne.

This event is the focal point of the entire Jaguar Simola Hillclimb weekend, which runs from 14 to 17 May. Interest in this year’s edition has been unprecedented. The 80-entry limit was oversubscribed and sold out within a month, with the organisers now running a reserve list for the first time.

The competitors have entered a dazzling variety of standard vehicles, along with modified and high-performance race cars with the aim of setting the fastest time on the 1.9 km course over the two days of intense action that takes place on the Saturday and Sunday. It ultimately culminates in the final one-run shoot-out on Sunday afternoon that determines who is crowned ‘King of the Hill’ for 2015.

Franco Scribante, winner of last year’s event, will clearly be the man to beat, and he has no intention of relinquishing the title. The Johannesburg-based businessman and racing driver will be returning to the Hillclimb in the same 1970 Chevron B19 in which he totally dominated the 2014 event.

It may be a 45-year-old racing sports car, but the UK-built Chevron is certainly no slouch, having set a new record of 41.159 sec on The Hill last year – more than half a second faster in the grand finale than second-placed Desmond Gutzeit in his purpose-built Nissan Skyline GTR.

“The Jaguar Simola Hillclimb was the B19’s first outing last year after I purchased the car and had it completely rebuilt by the Chevron factory in the UK,” Scribante says. “I really didn’t know what to expect from the car, and was amazed that it was the fastest car the whole weekend.”

According to Scribante, the B19 is one of the two original Gunston-liveried Chevrons that competed the 1971 Springbok Series. This particular car won the series, driven by racing legends Mike Hailwood, John Love, Jim Redman and Paddy Driver. It was also apparently owned at one stage by Sir Stirling Moss.

An identical B19 was campaigned by none other than SA’s only Formula 1 champion, Jody Scheckter, along with ace local driver Dave Charlton.

It is powered by a 1.9-litre Cosworth Ford BDG engine with a power output of a mere 290 hp, or around 216 kW – a fraction of the power produced by several of the modern entries.

“The Chevron only weighs 525 kg, so it has an amazing power-to-weight ratio which makes it really fast in the corners,” Scribante adds. “This enables it to compete with the modified Nissan GTRs, some of which have more than three times the power.”

The B19 has benefited from a couple of modifications for the 2015 Hillclimb, but Scribante isn’t revealing the extent of the changes just yet. “We have a few new tricks on the Chevron, but I’m not saying much other than the fact that it will be quicker this year.”

Scribante had planned to compete with an even faster 1977 Chevron B26, powered by a specially developed 3.2-litre V8 engine. However the B26 won’t be completed in time for the Hillclimb so he’s sticking with the B19 for this year’s King of the Hill.

As for his main rivals, Scribante indicates that Des and Jade Gutzeit remain formidable competitors with really fast cars. “The Gutzeits always turn up with the most power and are among the front runners throughout the weekend.”

“Jaki Scheckter is also a strong contender in his Nissan GTR. We’ve raced together often in GTs and historics, and he will undoubtedly be one of the front-runners. You can also never discount Geoff Mortimer who is always quick, despite his age. It will be a very tight race at the top.”

Des Gutzeit will once again be competing in his formidable and extensively modified 2006 Nissan Skyline GTR R32. As the runner-up last year, Gutzeit Senior is more determined than ever to top the time sheets.

“I’ve entered the same GTR R32 from last year, but with several modifications,” he says. “It now has around 1 200 hp, and we’ve also worked on improving the aerodynamics to give it better handling.”

But Des isn’t the only Gutzeit that the rest of the field needs to worry about, as son Jade was the 2012 King of the Hill, and he’s back in the fray again for 2015. “Jade will be driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII which has a lot of modifications,” Des explains. “It has around 800 hp, and is much lighter and more nimble than the R32, so he should be really fast.”

Jade’s younger brother Shane will also be attacking The Hill this year. A regular competitor in drifting, Shane will line up at the start in a 750 hp R32 Skyline GTR.

“We’re coming back hard this year, but it’s clear that there will be a lot of really fast drivers and equally fast cars out there,” Des states. “Franco Scribante is a great competitor, and I also expect the Nissan GTR R35 drivers such as Darron Gudmanz to be challenging for victory. There will be at least 10 cars with the potential to win this year.”

Some of the other big names scheduled to line up at the start include former rally champion Enzo Kuun and Ian Scheckter, both competing in Ford V8 Masters cars, along with Willie Hepburn in his fire-breathing 6.0-litre V8-powered Opel from the WesBank Modifieds era.

In motorsport terms, the short 1.9 km time attack on the Simola hill seems rather insignificant, particularly as the fastest runs are completed in a shade over 41 sec – albeit at an astonishing average speed of over 166 km/h!

So what keeps the drivers coming back with more determination and more specialised and expensive cars every time?

“The great thing about the Hillclimb is that you can race any type of car, and the people really come to see the exotics and the cars they wouldn’t normally see anywhere else in the country,” Scribante states.

Des Gutzeit echoes the sentiment. “The Hillclimb is a great event. It is very well organised and professionally run, and it’s always fantastic to be there.”

Indeed, the mix of iconic cars from all eras, the motorsport legends from past and present and the accessible nature of the event make it simply mesmerising, enhanced further by Classic Car Friday and the latest attraction, SuperCar Thursday.

The Jaguar Simola Hillclimb is undeniably the one true must-see event on the calendar for any motoring or motorsport enthusiast.