Rev up your PC for Virtual Hillclimb

Update

KNYSNA NEWS - Motorheads unable to wait until September for the real Simola Hillclimb, will no doubt find joy in the news that the virtual Simola Hillclimb is set to be held in May - when the event was originally scheduled for before the pandemic put paid to it.

Knysna Speed Festival, organiser of the Hillclimb, has partnered with leading e-sports eventing company Monarch to launch the 2021 Virtual Simola Hillclimb. Starting with a series of four qualifiers, it will culminate in final virtual shoot-outs on 8 and 9 May.

These are the originally scheduled dates of the physical 2021 Simola Hillclimb, which was postponed till September.

Managing Director of Knysna Speed Festival Ian Shrosbree is excited about the prospect. He said it had become very clear in the months of discussions which finally led to the 2021 postponement, that levels of disappointment were extreme among competitors and fans alike.

"It was starting to feel like the complete loss of the Hillclimb experience - and we have more than a decade's worth of excitement and special competing intensity to protect," he said. "We realised that while the pandemic continues its impact on our lives we would have to create a meaningful substitute to run up till and through that original Hillclimb weekend."

Players will be able to enjoy the experience of racing the Hillclimb from the comfort of their own homes.

Intricate planning

Around the time of the first postponement of the Hillclimb (at the height of the pandemic in 2020), organisers met with Monarch and together began the intricate process of building a substantial databank of material and moving through the intricate planning needed for a project of this kind.

"It all takes a great deal of time and commitment from all the partners (ourselves and Monarch), which included detailed scanning of the track, the design and development of the game itself; identification and recognition of the individual and collective equipment needed by ourselves and our potential virtual competitors… there is a lot of detail and a lot of volume," Shrosbree explained.

The Virtual Simola Hillclimb starts with the opening round on Monday 22 March and runs till Saturday 27 March.

Players will be able to enjoy the experience of racing the Hillclimb from the comfort of their own homes.

Round two is from 29 March to 3 April, round three from 5 to 10 April, and round four, the final qualifying round, from 12 to 17 April. The scores from all four rounds will produce the top ten competitors qualifying for the finals on 8 and 9 May and the winner after those two days of competition will be crowned the Virtual King of the Hill that Sunday evening.

"This virtual version also allows anyone who has dreamt of competing in the Hillclimb to now have a shot at racing against not only other players, but also the record times set in real life by real drivers, and do all of this virtually," enthused Shrosbree.

Every possible detail of the Hillclimb track has been mapped for the virtual race.

The track will be made publicly available on Assetto Corsa on 17 March for everyone to enjoy from the safety and comfort of their own homes.

CEO of Monarch, Warren Barkhuizen, commented, "We are thrilled to bring the iconic Simola Hillclimb to the e-sports arena and bring 'sim racing' to a wider audience. We look forward to showcasing the first ever virtual rendition of the Virtual Simola Hillclimb and trust it will receive an incredible reception among established and aspiring sim racers coming in as a fresh and innovative e-sports event."

The Virtual Simola Hillclimb will bring the event to life in a way it has never been before.