KNYSNA NEWS - The Simola Hillclimb will be doubling down this year when September rolls around as the physical event will be partnered by the finals of the second virtual edition of the race of the year.
The first edition of the Virtual Simola Hillclimb that was run earlier this year proved to be a huge success with competitors, fans and the media all enthusiastically embracing the event and keeping the Hillclimb top of mind.
In a press release issued last week organisers explained that, for the second edition, the basic structure of the virtual event has remained the same as in edition one, featuring four weeks of time attacks, each with a new car. The organisers will reveal the car to be used each Friday before the next round.
The crossover event will see the finals of the Monarch Virtual Simola Hillclimb run on the same days as the physical event - from 3 to 5 September. The opening round of the virtual edition kicked off on 26 July and will run through to 1 August.
Round two is from 2 to 8 August, round three from 9 to 15 August, and round four - the final qualifying round - from 16 to 22 August. Monarch will be running 10 servers to host the online competition.
The top 10 finishers from the qualifying rounds in each category will progress to the finals. There are no restrictions on who can enter the event, but only residents of South Africa will qualify for prizes. Prizes will be announced on Monday 23 August.
The format has been tweaked slightly to align more closely with the real event. This change will see two competitions run each week rather than the single competition of edition one: one for classic cars leading to the Classic Car Friday final (3 September), and one for modern race and road cars competing in the King of the Hill category leading to the finals on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 September.
Ian Shrosbree, managing director of Knysna Speed Festival, said that after the success of the first Virtual Simola Hillclimb it had become clear there was an appetite for a second edition.
"Interest and engagement from participants, fans and media for the first running of the virtual iteration of the Hillclimb was incredible," he said. "We are thankful to Monarch and its commercial partners for making edition two happen in these tough economic times. Without their support we would not have been able to run it a second time."
Monarch CEO Warren Barkhuizen added, "The vision of running a virtual event alongside the actual Simola Hillclimb has become reality. We are grateful to be part of this new concept and we know it's going to be an exciting and successful venture like the first one".
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