Simola success for Suzuki as Jimny walks away with a podium

Long-time Simola Hillclimb sponsor Suzuki capped off an event marred by tragedy to post a podium finish out of its three vehicles entered in the 15^th running of the event outside Knysna.

Team Suzuki

Competing in the standard road car or A1 class, the entry list for 2025 involved the familiar sight of the now previous generation Swift Sport but also the all-new fourth generation Swift and, in the SUV class, the three-door Jimny.

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While the former pair, driven by television personality, racing driver and commentator Ernest Page and former Group N track star and Wiele2Wiele host Jeanette Kok-Kritzinger, were never considered for outright victory, both still impressed.

The same, however, didn’t apply to the Jimny campaigned by AutoTrader journalist and reigning Toyota GR Cup media champion Sean Nurse, whose entry into the A9 class assured a certain podium place as only two other vehicles of a similar type made it into the final.

Jimny wins

With a time of 1:06.404, the blue MotoGP-liveried Jimny of Nurse finished third behind the other class competitors, a standard Alfa Romeo Stelvio Q and a supercharged Nissan Patrol.

Stripped of its headrests, rear seats, toolkit and affixed spare wheel to reduce weight, all within the legal limits, the Jimny, equipped with the five-speed manual gearbox, bettered Nurse’s self-set time by four seconds to finish on the podium.

“I think the Jimny surprised a lot of people with the times it’s managed up the hill. I was here to compete against myself and to have a little bit of fun; and to show people that the Jimny is more dynamic than most people probably expect,” Nurse said afterwards.

Just out of reach

Out of the pair of Swifts, the 1 min 04 second run saw Page fail to make the final run in the A1 class.

For former woman’s land speed record Jeanette, the opposite was true as the yellow Swift Sport regularly topped the class time sheets, with an eventual third place being on the cards at one stage.

Her eventual time of 56.538 seconds didn’t, however, lead to an entry into the finals, but did net a fourth place overall.

“I think they’ve put on a really good show. The Jimny reached the class final by default, inheriting third place, but I think to be just over 10 seconds off second place with a 1.5-litre four-cylinder was a great result,” Suzuki Auto South Africa Brand Marketing Manager, Brendon Carpenter, said.

“The rest of the drivers said that they had a lot of fun, and I think for us that is what it’s all about, and that’s the win in our case. For Suzuki, we are very, very proud of the team, of the participation, but then also of the success of the event.”

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