KNYSNA NEWS - One of South Africa's premier motoring and motorsport events, the Simola Hillclimb, has now been elevated to even greater heights with the announcement that Volkswagen South Africa is bringing Petter Solberg – the popular WRC and WRX champion – to compete at this year's event, and organisers couldn't be happier.
Solberg is one of the best-known drivers in the World Rally Championship (WRC), becoming the first Norwegian to win the title in 2003 and wrapping up his career in 2009 with a total of 13 wins.
Aside from his success on the WRC stage, Solberg stamped his mark on the World Rallycross (WRX) scene by claiming its first-ever championship crown in 2014, which he went on to repeat in 2015.
Two years later Solberg partnered with Volkswagen Motorsport to create the PSRX Volkswagen Sweden team, which dominated the sport by scoring an astonishing 19 wins from 24 events over the course of 2017 and 2018.
Solberg finished third overall in 2017, while the team won both the driver and team championships on both occasions - a remarkable feat.
"Having a star driver of the calibre of Petter Solberg competing in this year's Simola Hillclimb is a thrilling prospect which significantly elevates the status of our event," says Ian Shrosbree, MD of the Knysna Speed Festival which owns the Simola Hillclimb.
"We appreciate the immense amount of work Volkswagen SA has put into securing Solberg and the remarkable Polo R WRX Supercar, and its commitment as one of our partners for 2023."
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