07 May FMM Tyrrell at Simola
The annual Simola Hillclimb took place in the Garden Route town of Knysna on May 1-4 and FMM was again present to do demo runs with one of the museum’s superb collection of performance cars. This year the FMM team comprising Curator Sian Theron, Workshop Manager Lorenzo Farella and technicians Wenstley Wicomb and Donnie Tarentaal took the ex-Scheckter 1974 Tyrrell-Ford 007-1 Formula One car to the weekend event.
Unfortunately, wet and occasionally rainy conditions dampened the Classic Car Friday proceedings and for safety reasons the organisers cancelled the Tyrrell’s lunchtime demo run. But the team was able to thrill the fans by starting and revving the car’s engine, making plenty of nostalgic V8 noise. Being located close to the start line, the FMM pit was continually buzzing with people viewing the car and taking photos.
While the conditions needed care, the racing was still highly competitive. The Simola Hillclimb added another repeat Classic Car Friday winner to its history books when Charles Arton claimed his second Classic Conqueror title – a full decade after his previous win in 2015. Having secured third place in 2023 and second last year, Arton stepped onto the top step of the podium at this year’s landmark 15th edition of the Simola Hillclimb, which is renowned as South Africa’s premier motoring and motorsport lifestyle event, and the world’s fastest hillclimb.
Driving his 1979 March 79A Formula Atlantic single-seater, Arton conquered extremely difficult and unpredictable conditions, characterised by very low temperatures and intermittent rain throughout the day, to set the fastest time of 44,436 seconds in the all-or-nothing Top 10 Shootout.
With this spirited drive, he edged out 2023 winner Andre Bezuidenhout in the 1976 Lola T460 by 0,598 secs. It was an extremely close battle between the pair, as Bezuidenhout gained the upper hand in the Class Finals in wet conditions with a time of 47,051 secs – a mere 0,065 secs ahead of his class H9 rival. Ian Schofield ended third in the class as well as in the overall Classic Conqueror battle behind the wheel of his 1977 March 77B.
“This is my 14th Simola Hillclimb. I did the very first one in 2009 which Sarel van der Merwe won in the V8 Masters car, and I shared a similar car with Ian Scheckter that year,” said Arton. “This event still has that same hillclimb atmosphere and community sense that it’s always had which is brilliant, but it has developed into a proper world-class event that competitors and spectators from South Africa and around the world want to come to. Congrats again to Ian Shrosbree, Geoff Goddard and the rest of the team that continue to put an amazing event together each year.”
The Classic Car Friday class winners were:
H1 (handicap formula class): Gero Lilleike (1946 Austin A40 Special)
H2: Hedley Whitehead (1964 Austin Cooper S)
H3: Jandre Bezuidenhout (1985 Porsche 944 Turbo Cup)
H4: Ivan Lerm (1987 AC Cobra)
H5: Trevor Tuck (1969 Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV)
H6: Gavin Rooke (1973 Porsche 911)
H7: Rob Obery (1980 Porsche 924 GTP)
H8: Rui Campos (1974 Porsche 911 RSR)
H9: Andre Bezuidenhout (1976 Lola T460)
H10: Franco Scribante (1971 Chevron B19)
As per the usual format, the Simola weekend featured the King Of The Hill competition over the Saturday and Sunday. Saturday saw the sun come out, and with a dry track Lorenzo was able to give the Tyrrell its head during the break as it went up the hill, delighting competitors and fans alike. Sunday’s weather was the same but the proceedings took a sad turn when seasoned competitor Pieter Joubert sadly passed away in an accident. Pieter was out on his first run when he lost control of his Lotus Exige V8 on the fast uphill straight and veered off the course after it appeared that something broke on the car. The scene was immediately attended to by the event’s on-site medical, fire and emergency crews, and all of the required protocols for an incident of this nature were in place. Sadly, Pieter was pronounced deceased on the scene. It was the first fatality in the event’s 15-year history. Pieter’s family, who were in attendance at the event, were supported by the organisers.
“We are exceptionally saddened by this incident, and our thoughts and condolences are with Pieter’s family, team and friends,” said Ian Shrosbree, MD of Knysna Speed Festival. “Pieter’s brothers Dawie and Charl, who have also been competing, have expressed their wishes that we continue with the event.”
As a result, the FMM team were asked to do another demo run with the Tyrrell between the qualifying and final runs, which was carried out and appreciated by everyone.
“I would like to extend my thanks to the Simola Hillclimb organisers for the invitation to the event, as well as to our fantastic team who did a marvelous job of having the Tyrrell in prime form,” says Sian. “FMM adds its sincere condolences and prayers to the Joubert family.”
A report on the King Of The Hill event is being held over until next month’s newsletter.
Professional photos courtesy of Mileman Media.
