Darron Gudmanz

KNYSNA, South Africa – Once the motorsport bug has bitten, it never lets go. This certainly applies to veteran racing driver Darron Gudmanz, who has competed in a variety of motor racing categories over the years, from WesBank V8 Supercars to historics, Polo SupaCup and even rally-raid events.

However, the annual Simola Hillclimb remains one of his favourite events, having featured in all but one of the 16 editions held to date. This makes him a true stalwart of South Africa’s premier motoring and motorsport lifestyle event, and the fastest hillclimb in the world.

“I raced in WesBank V8s for 25 years against the likes of Willie Hepburn and Sarel van der Merwe, which was lots of fun,” Gudmanz says. “After that I started getting into hillclimbs with Des Gutzeit, going with him and the team to events and seeing that it was something really special, so I decided to join the action. Although I didn’t compete in the first Simola Hillclimb, I’ve done every one since then, and it has been an absolute blast.”

As with any form of racing things don’t always go to plan, and the East London businessman crashed his Nissan R35 GT-R on his second participation at the Simola Hillclimb in 2011, having finished an impressive fourth overall the previous year. “Back then we had two orange bollards to mark the finish, then a mobile toilet after that, and when I saw the toilet I realised that I missed the finish line,” he recalls with amusement. The damaged GT-R was subsequently rebuilt into a hillclimb car, which he successfully raced for several years.

Gudmanz has consistently been at the sharp end of the Simola Hillclimb field, regularly appearing in the all-or-nothing Top 10 Shootouts over the years. He secured another fourth overall in 2012, and in 2014 he took the class B2 victory in the R35 GT-R with a time of 41.831 seconds, beating Jaki Scheckter in a similar car by 0.383 sec, with Des Gutzeit third in his highly modified R32 Skyline GT-R.

In the all-or-nothing Top 10 Shootout, Gudmanz finished an impressive third overall on 41.900 seconds, a mere 0.195 sec behind Gutzeit, with the overall King of the Hill title going to Franco Scribante in the lightweight Chevron B19 sports prototype racer. Prior to 2017 there was only a single overall winner, before the Modified Saloon Car, Single Seater and Sports Car, and Road and Supercar categories were introduced.

He completed the 2015 event with back-to-back King of the Hill podiums in third place, achieving his best time to date of 41.763 seconds on the tight and technical 1.9 km Simola Hillclimb course. Gutzeit claimed the win that year ahead of BMW driver Sav Gualtieri.

The 2017 edition saw Gudmanz switching to a 1992 Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R, which has become a familiar and popular car at the event, and continued his association with the Simola Hotel Country Club and Spa as a long-standing sponsor. “This car has an interesting story, as Graham Galloway owned it before me and drove it at the Simola Hillclimb. When he emigrated to Australia someone bought the car from him but only ever paid the deposit. I eventually got the car at a really good price by paying him the balance,” Gudmanz says.

“The R32 Skyline GT-R is a legendary car and it qualifies to race in Classic Car Friday, but I love being part of King of the Hill. My goal now every year is to make it to the Modified Saloon Car Top 10 Shootout, as there’s no way this kind of car could ever win again with the monsters we have around us,” he says.

The cars have certainly evolved dramatically over the years, and although Gudmanz rues the fact that it has placed an overall victory out of the reach of a casual racer, he acknowledges that it has been good for the competitors, the spectators and the event as a whole which is truly world-class and just gets better each year. “The cars that compete in the Simola Hillclimb are unbelievable. They are next-level, and can easily compete on the global stage,” he says.

This has been proven by three-time Modified Saloon Car winner Pieter Zeelie, who has notched up class wins and podium finishes at several FIA International Hill Climb Cup events in Germany.

Head-to-head against the legends

“We had a couple of really good years at the beginning and I came close to winning the Simola Hillclimb. When I raced for Craig Czank at one stage we had a really competitive car, so there have been plenty of highs and a couple of lows with my crash and when the cars have broken, but that’s racing,” Gudmanz says. “I really enjoyed competing against Des Gutzeit and Wilhelm Baard. As long as I beat Wilhelm I didn’t really care about anyone else.”

The camaraderie and friendly atmosphere have also been major highlights. “It’s always fantastic to be here, and everyone helps each other out. I had Steve Clarke working on my car five minutes before he had to go out for one of his runs, even though he’s my opposition. And with Aldo and Silvio Scribante, you can go to their trailer and they’ll give you anything they can, which is amazing.”

Gudmanz looks forward to coming back each year, despite usually leaving everything for the last minute – as most racers tend to do. “We always wait 11 months to work on the car, then spend two weeks shouting and screaming in a mad rush to get the car ready,” he says. “It’s been an absolute blast. The memories, the laughs, the good times, and the close shaves. We still have dramas at every event, but I wouldn’t miss it for the world!”

The 17th edition of the Simola Hillclimb will take place from 29 April to 2 May 2027.