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SIMOLA HILL CLIMB 2025: A BATTLE OF BOOST, GRIT, AND EV SHOCKWAVES!

Published: 2025-04-19 12:41:36 Last Updated: 2025-04-19 12:55:06

There’s nothing quite like the Modified Saloon Car showdown at the Simola Hillclimb, and the 15th edition - running from 1 to 4 May 2025 - is shaping up to be one of the wildest yet. This year, the bar’s being raised sky-high with a grid full of heavy hitters, local legends, and one hell of an international headliner. Enter Johan Kristoffersson, the seven-time World Rallycross champion from Sweden, who’s bringing some serious electric thunder to Knysna. Thanks to Volkswagen Group Africa, he’ll be strapping into his title-winning, all-electric Volkswagen Polo RX1e - the car that decimated the 2022 and 2023 WRX grids with eight wins out of ten rounds in one season. It’s fast. It’s silent. And it’s ready to eat tarmac.
“This is massive,” says Ian Shrosbree, MD of Knysna Speed Festival. “Having someone of Johan’s calibre - and that insane Polo RX1e - at Simola is next-level. After Petter Solberg’s run last year, we knew the world was watching. Now we’re dialling things up again.”
While Kristoffersson is best known for dominating the dirt, his CV reads like a motorsport buffet: touring cars, GT racing, and even Extreme E, where he bagged two championship titles. His Polo RX1e will slot into class B8 for electric/alternative energy cars, but his real goal? That King of the Hill crown. And with a 500 kW electric drivetrain capable of 0-100 km/h in a face-flattening 1.8 seconds, he’s not just here for the sightseeing.

He’ll have fierce competition, though - starting with Franco Scribante and his monstrous 1,175+ kW multi-winged Nissan R35 GT-R, known in hushed tones as "The Sheriff". It’s fast - 250+ km/h fast on the Simola straight—but its biggest test is sticking the landing from the brutal standing start. Last year, a blown gearbox killed Franco’s run. This year? Expect vengeance. Right behind him will be Reghard Roets in BB Motorsport’s all-wheel-drive beast, the aptly named “Armageddon”. Unlike Scribante’s aero-heavy setup, Roets’ car takes a more minimalist approach - and it works. The two drivers traded blows last year until Roets’ front diff gave up the ghost. Now, with three Road and Supercar King of the Hill titles to his name, he’s gunning hard for a first Modified Saloon crown. Rear-wheel drive fans, don’t panic - Dawie Joubert is back. The man who beat the AWD titans last year returns in his featherweight Ferrari 488-powered Lotus Exige, aiming to break that elusive 38-second mark after getting this close in 2024. Add to that Pieter Zeelie’s Toyota MR2 Super GT, Charl Joubert’s V6-powered Lotus Elise, and the twin Czank Racing Exiges - one with a GT-R heart, the other with a turbo VR32 - and the class B4 action is going to be relentless.

Also worth watching: Wade van Zummeren, now in an AWD R34 GT-R after some mad sideways moments last year in a RWD version. He’ll be joined by brother Jody in a R32 GT-R, with both aiming to mix it with the best in B5. From Gqeberha, the Scribante brothers - Aldo and Silvio - are back in their proven Audi-based machines. Aldo’s S4 is a full-blown ex-Production Car, while Silvio’s RS3 comes straight from Swedish time attack circuits. After gearbox trouble in 2024, he’ll be hoping for a clean weekend this time around. The big-banger B7 class sees Giacomo Giannoccaro unleash his NASCAR-powered BMW Z4 GT3, joined by son Ricardo in a Mercedes-AMG GT3. They’ll square up against Pieter Joubert’s V8 Lotus Exige and Mike Verrier’s LS7-powered Z4. B6 has a pair of serious Porsches - Charl Arrangies in a 2021 911 GT3R and Willie de Beer in his 2008 GT3 Cup car - while B3 will see turbocharged four-cylinder AWD chaos from Lee Thompson’s Polo-Honda hybrid, Anton Cronje’s WRX STi, and Jared Rossouw’s Golf 6R. In B2, it’s VW vs VW as Jonathan Mogotsi and Daniel Rowe reignite their Polo SupaCup battle, with extra heat from Owen Bridger’s Civic, Kashen Naicker’s VW-powered Lotus, and Louis Cloete’s mad Subaru-powered Beetle.

The B1 naturally aspirated class comes down to Tarique Zietsman in a Fiesta ST and Farhad Alli in a BMW ti, while B9 for SUVs and bakkies will see Arnold du Plessis return in BB Motorsport’s 396 kW supercharged V8 Nissan Patrol, now facing off with Janus Janse van Rensburg’s Alfa Stelvio Q. Rounding things off, B10 - the street-legal tuned class - features ex-Group N racer Farouk Dangor in a 2001 R34 GT-R, Giovanni Fantin’s Audi RS3, and Martin van Zummeren, who has ditched his wild race-spec R34 for a milder - but still potent - R33. All of this action builds to the high-stakes Top 10 Shootout on Sunday, where bragging rights, records, and legends are made. So buckle up - this year’s Simola Hillclimb is going to be electric, literally and figuratively.

The 15th Simola Hillclimb runs from 1 to 4 May 2025. Don’t miss it.

Take a look at the YouTube video that does a great job of introducing you to the star in an exorbitantly-priced car that will be competing under the Volkswagen banner in the 2025 instalment of the Simola Hill Climb in Knysna. This family doesn't play when it comes to motorsports: Johan takes us on a tour of Kristoffersson Motorsport! 🏁 | Electric Odyssey S03 E15 | Extreme E | Extreme H

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Article Tags: News SA South Africa Epic Hill Climb Knysna Simola Hillclimb Simola SXdrv Johan Kristoffersson