WATCH: Suzuki surprises at Simola Hillclimb

Suzuki’s sponsoring of this year’s Simola Hillclimb outside Knysna resulted in a positive outcome for its two provided Swift Sports.

Entered in Class A1 for road-going turbo-or-supercharged cars, the automatic example of motoring journalist, Reuben van Niekerk, set a time of 54.913 during Sunday’s final King of Climb section, while the manual model driven by a precision driving instructor, Wesley Greybe, amassed a time of 54.580.

With that, Greybe also managed to take the final spot on the class podium despite conditions varying from wet and cold to warm and sunny.

In the wet during Saturday’s qualifying session, van Niekerk posted a time of 1:06.135 and Greybe 1:01.811. By afternoon as conditions improved and familiarity began setting in, the respective times had fallen to 55.901 and 55.709 seconds.

“It is testament to the quality of the car’s suspension and transmission that the manual and auto versions of the Swift Sport can run so close to each other,” said van Niekerk after his final run.

ALSO READ: Suzuki gearing up for enticing Simola Hillclimb

“It is also very impressive to see how both cars could line up for a competitive run, time after time, without any fade or failure. Keep in mind that both cars came straight off the showroom floor to the start line”.

By the end of the event on Sunday, the times had fallen to less than 55 seconds with the Swifts impressing with each run.

“The car is light and the chassis taught, which is ideal for any sports car, and it allowed you to keep your foot planted with confidence despite the dust on the road,” said Greybe.

Commenting on the event, Suzuki’s Brand Marketing Manager for South Africa, Brendon Carpenter, remarked, “We came to Simola to show that you don’t need to break the bank to have a truly competitive sports car, or great fun, on the hill climb.

“Both drivers kept improving as the weekend progressed and surprised us ­– and the crowd – with final times below 55 seconds. We are very grateful that Reuben and Wesley agreed to race for us. Their gritty racing and constant improvement were a perfect foil for the Swift Sport’s nature”.