Simola Hillclimb organisers will step up safety for the 16th edition, which will take place in Knysna from April 30 to May 3 2026.
Seasoned competitor Pieter Joubert was killed in this year’s event on May 4 after losing control of his Lotus during a run up the 1.9km Simola Hill, due to suspected mechanical failure.
“For this year we have been hard at work increasing our safety measures with the addition of 1,260 new tyres, and 2,600 special screws and nuts and over a kilometre of stainless steel strapping. This has been done to upgrade the tyre barriers to FIA specification,” said Leon Smith, the event’s new sporting director.
This year’s hillclimb drew a record attendance of 20,244 spectators despite the tragedy. The event draws a diverse range of cars and the drivers from SA and abroad.
For 2026, the organisers have expanded the range of cars that will be eligible for Classic Car Friday, which is expected to attract a more exciting range of entry applications.
“Probably the most important change is allowing racing saloon cars produced from 1976 up to and including 2005 in H7 for four-cylinder machines, and H8 for six cylinders and above. This opens up these classes for the legendary Group N production cars that headlined our circuit racing during the period, and were crowd favourites across the country,” Smith said.
“Many of these cars are still around in various collections, and we look forward to hopefully adding them to the line-up next year.”
For King of the Hill, which takes place on May 2-3, the regulations have been tweaked to accommodate engine configurations up to four cylinders, making provision for the increasing prevalence of three-cylinder engines in smaller cars.
The Simola Hillclimb is an invitational event. The request for invitation application process is open from October 1 2025 to January 31 2026, with more information available here.
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