ROSSLYN, South Africa – Nissan will again be the marque to beat at this year’s tenth official Jaguar Simola Hill Climb in Knysna, South Africa.
Fourteen Nissan vehicles will be racing around the 1.9-kilometer track. They’ll be led by last year’s reigning champions, Wilhelm Baard and Reghard Roets.
Baard claimed his third Simola championship and his fourth South African hill climb title in 2018, when he piloted Armageddon, the 1,300+ horsepower R35 GT-R prepared by BB Motorsport, to the top in a record time of 39.463 seconds.
"We are so much better prepared for this year’s race," said Baard. "At our last track tests in Gauteng, we simply tweaked the throttle settings and power delivery, all the other work, such as chassis development and engine upgrades, has already been perfected."
Baard and BB Motorsport partnered with NISMO, Nissan’s global motorsport division, to prepare Baard’s GT-R for race day.
"With the car as it is, I believe we can go as low as 37 seconds up the hill," said Baard.
In the production saloon and supercar category, two-time champion Reghard Roets will be racing his stock Melrose Nissan GT-R, backed by Nissan SA.
"There is little that we can do to the vehicle, since we are competing in the standard saloon division, but the R35 GT-R has already proven that it is a formidable supercar, even in standard form," said Roets.
Eleven GT-Rs will race in the modified saloon and supercar categories, including a specially developed new Hillclimb GT-R from regular competitor, Franco Scribante. This GT-R features an outlandish double front wing developed by an international World Time Attack specialist and is rumored to deliver over 1,600 horsepower.
Franco Scribante’s specially developed new Hillclimb GT-R features an outlandish double front wing developed by an international World Time Attack specialist and is rumored to deliver over 1,600 horsepower.
However popular, the R35 GT-R will not be the only Nissan sports car in the line-up. In class B4 for two-wheel drive modified cars, two older rear-wheel drive Nissan Skylines are competing. Additionally, Graham McLeod from the Nissan GT-R and Z Club of South Africa will compete for the crown in the naturally aspirated six-cylinder A5 class with his 370Z.
Additionally, Terence Marsh of Red-Lined Motoring Adventures will be racing in the B9 class for unlimited pickups and SUVs in a custom-built, FIA-spec T1 V8 Nissan Navara. Red-Lined builds custom off-road race cars and trucks that are marketed and sold around the world. His Navara, which competed in the last Dakar Rally, is powered by a naturally aspirated 5.6-liter V8 Nissan engine sourced from the new Nissan Patrol.
The 2019 Jaguar Simola Hill Climb will be held from 2 – 5 May in Knysna, South Africa...
Contact
Patience Dumisani
Senior Manager, Product Communications
(012) 529 5000
patiencedu@nissan.co.za
Veralda Schmidt
Media Relations Manager
(012) 529 5000
veraldas@nissan.co.za
