Fans were treated to another exciting duel at the Simola Hillclimb. Rui Campos took second place in the all-or-nothing top-10 shootout in his 1974 Porsche 911 RSR. Third place went to Josh Dovey in a 1972 Chevron B20 F3 single-seater, following a nail-biting finish that saw him knock Robert Wolk in an ex-Jody Scheckter 1969 Lola T200 Formula Ford off the podium by a mere one-thousandth of a second.
In an unexpected turn of events, three of Classic Car Friday’s top competitors were ruled out of contention. Six-time winner Franco Scribante’s 1970 Chevron B19 and the similar 1971 car of Peter Jenkins did not pass the pre-event technical inspection during scrutineering on Thursday, and were sidelined before the action even began.
Some drama unfolded immediately after the first practice session, when André Bezuidenhout’s 1976 Lola Cosworth T460 was accidentally hit from behind by the 1959 Chevrolet Corvette driven by Richard Evans during the return run down the hill to the pits. While Evans managed to eventually repair his car in time for the final qualifying session, Bezuidenhout was forced to retire, prematurely ending his challenge for the title.
“It’s a very unfortunate event,” Bezuidenhout said. “The rear wing is damaged, the engine plate has been bent and the steering is skew. It’s impossible to drive a car in this condition up the Simola Hill, with safety our first priority.”
Along with the overall win, Ian Schofield also won Class H8 for single-seaters ahead of Dovey and Wolk. “It was quite an eventful day,” an elated but relieved Schofield said. “First we had a problem with the clutch and thought we would be packing up early, but it landed up just being an adjustment issue. Then the car caught fire at the top of the hill after we stopped, but fortunately there wasn’t any significant damage.
“I saved the best till last and really gave it everything in the shootout after a cracking run during the class finals, so it was great to achieve my fastest time of the day at the end,” he said.
Campos was also delighted with the result. “Obviously some of the big guns weren’t here today, but the opportunity was there and we made the most of it. My team did an awesome job preparing the car and I pushed it as hard as I could. It’s a privilege to be at this event racing against people like Enzo Kuun, Ian Schofield and many others.”
Dovey was thrilled with a podium finish in his first outing in the single-seater category, having competed with a Ginetta road car previously. “It doesn’t get much closer than that,” he said, highlighting the mere 0.001s gap to the fourth-placed Wolk. “I had a quicker run in the class finals and I knew that I lost time going under the Turn 3 Bridge in the last run, so after that I decided to just go for it.
“There’s probably more time I can find in the car next time as there was a lot of grip out there. I’m very happy with the Chevron B20 F3. it’s the perfect car for me at the Simola Hillclimb and I really enjoyed the event,” Dovey said.
Johan de Bruyn was placed fifth in the top-10 shootout in his 1968 Porsche 911R, followed by James Temple (1965 Shelby Daytona Coupé), Charles Arton (1972 Datsun 240Z) and Clive Corder (1969 Lola T70 Mk 3B). Trevor Tuck (1974 Alfa Romeo Giulia 2000 Rally) and Kobus Brits (1967 Porsche 911 R) rounded out the top 10.
Class finals
There was lots of interest in the new handicap format for Class H1 for pre-war cars, with Brian Esterhuysen taking the win in his stunning 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C Monza replica. Callum Price finished second in his 1946 Austin Special, with Patrick Gearing third in his 1935 Riley TT Sprite.
Class H2 for pre-1965 road cars went to Barry Ingle in his 1955 Porsche 550A Spider, while Clayton Kimber took H3 for pre-1985 cars in a road-legal 1965 Shelby Daytona Coupe. Ron Hollis emerged victorious in H4 for pre-1970 four-cylinder racing cars driving a 1964 MG Midget, while James Temple secured a second victory for the Shelby SA/Lindenberg Racing squad by powering a race-spec 1965 Daytona Coupe to the Class H5 title.
Trevor Tuck was the class of the H6 field in his 1974 Alfa Romeo Giulia 200 Rally, while Campos and Schofield claimed the H7 and H8 titles respectively.
Sprit of Dave Charlton Award
The special Spirit of Dave Charlton Award at the Simola Hillclimb recognises the person that reflects South African race legend Dave Charlton’s spirit of impeccable attention to detail, meticulous preparation and commendable performance.
For this year’s Classic Car Friday, racing legend Peter Lindenberg received this meritorious award. Lindenberg retired from competition at the end of 2021, closing the book on a long and distinguished career in both car and powerboat racing.
As the custodian of the Shelby franchise for South Africa as well as heading up the Lindenberg Racing team, Lindenberg remains intimately involved in all aspects of both entities. He and his family have supported the Simola Hillclimb for many years, and helped bring a total of nine cars to the 2022 event – six of which competed in Classic Car Friday, with a further three taking on this year’s King of the Hill.
