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Suzuki Auto South Africa is merging the world of two and four wheels at this weekend’s much-anticipated Simola Hillclimb. This is the first year that Suzuki will join the event as a branding partner to the Simola Hillclimb, the first for several competitors to race with Suzuki colours and the first public viewing of its 2021 Suzuki Hayabusa Sports Bike.
“We are very excited to showcase the new Hayabusa to competitors at the event and to viewers across South Africa. This is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated Hyper-Sport Bikes of the year, and our first two consignments have sold out, sight unseen,” says Brendon Carpenter, Brand Marketing Manager of Suzuki Auto South Africa.
The new Hayabusa will be raced up the hill during competitor breaks and will be piloted by AJ Venter, a well-known South African superbike racer and a contender in the Isle of Man TT.
“While the new Hayabusa is bound to steal the show, its predecessor will power two of the three Simola Hillclimb contenders that are racing with Suzuki MotoGP colours,” says Carpenter.
The first and perhaps best known Simola Hillclimb contender to race with subtle Suzuki branding and Team Gunston inspired livery, is Franco Scribante. Scribante is a multiple Simola King of the Hill and Classic Car Champion and the only contender to hold both titles in the same year.
This year, Scribante will race his Suzuki Hayabusa-powered 1972 B26 Chevron in the H8 class of the Classic Car race. To make it true to its era, when it was fitted with a V8 racing engine, Scribante and his racing engineers built a bespoke 2.9 litre V8 from two high-revving Hayabusa engines.
This vehicle won Scribante the famed King of the Hill title when he competed with it in 2016, and this year it will replace his B19 Chevron in the Classic Car race. The B26 is rumoured to have over 550 horsepower with a 0 – 100 km/h acceleration time of only 2.5 seconds and a top speed of 300 km/h.
“This year, I have decided to compete with the V8 Chevron to take on the 1989 Minardi Cosworth Formula 1 car that will also be racing. On paper, the Formula 1 car is faster, but we don’t pay much attention to paper,” he jokes.
On Saturday, the focus shifts to two Suzuki-powered contenders in the King of the Hill competition.
First up is Megan Verlaque, who will race her Suzuki GSX-R600-powered Xtrem Racing Buggy in the C2 class for four-cylinder normally aspirated vehicles.
Verlaque is a rally and rallycross specialist, and she is particularly competitive in the latter racing format, with its mix of a tight track and mixed surfaces.
The Xtrem Racing Buggy is rated for 180 horsepower (134 kW) from its GSX-R engine, and it will reach 100 km/h in a staggering 2.4 seconds, thanks to its lightweight construction and the immediate power delivery from the Suzuki engine. The Racing Buggy has a top speed of 185 km/h.
“This is my first time up the hill. It is true bucket list stuff and I think it is every racing driver’s dream to race at Simola,” says Verlaque.
Rounding up the team of Suzuki-supported racers is Devin Robertson, a well-known competitor at Simola and also in local and international track racing.
Robertson will compete in the 2021 King of the Hill competition with a custom-built Radical SR1, which has been fitted with a tuned Suzuki Hayabusa engine. The engine has received further development from Robertson and his father at Big Boss Auto and it has been fitted with a racing spec Haltech Engine Management system.
Fitted with its Hayabusa engine, the Radical SR1 has over 200 horsepower (150 kW), a 0 – 100 km/h acceleration time of 3 seconds and a top speed of over 220 km/h.
This is only Robertson’s second attempt at the hill, but he is no rookie. In that year, he finished in seventh overall with a time of 42.7 seconds. He is also an international competitor in the US Inex Legend Series, which he won in 2014 and he races in the local V8 Supercar Series.
“I am very excited to see what the SR1 with its Hayabusa engine will do against the much larger vehicles. My main aim is to deliver a great result to show my appreciation for all the help I have received in the preparation of this car.”
Suzuki will support the racing drivers in Knysna and encourages all motorsport enthusiasts to follow the racing online and on television.
