Nissan GT-Rs Dominate The Jaguar Simola Hillclimb

But this time was chock full of drama which is not to say it hasn't been every other year. Let's just say the pecking order was scrambled with Wilhelm Baard failing to hold onto his King of the Hill title, it now passing to one Franco Scribante. And on that note...

Spoiler alert!

Enter the Hammerhead Shark, one of several new nicknames for the Scribante Team's new left-hand drive Nissan GT-R R35. And if you think the wings at the back are mental, wait till you see what happens at the front.

I mentioned drama, and between this car and Wilhelm's R35, both generating (very) well over a 1000hp, the tension could be cut with a blunt knife. They shared a marquee. Auras were colliding, teams were frantic, but thanks to many gremlins and fortune, the latter favoured the Scribante paddock with a car that would eventually post a 38.551 second run during qualifying.

Wilhelm could only muster a 40.349 second pass for his final run which saw him take the second step on the podium for the King of the Hill, still an impressive result with a car that was essentially two-wheel drive by the end of the evening.

The GT-R kept surprising, for the ease with which it delivered its power. It is a very rewarding supercar to drive, says Scribante who managed to get the top step with a 39.342 second pass.

There were other GT-R cars of course, with Kyle Mitchell's modified R35 also posting 40.862 seconds in the Top 10 shootout - impressive for a car with all its modcons still firmly in place. Then there was Reghard Roets who, in a completely stock R35 managed a run of just 43.840 seconds.

And everyone else…

It says Jaguar on the title card and that means some very slippery cats on the hill as well as some silent ones. The brand had a range of sports car and SUVs some with the SVR moniker, such as the F-Type and F-Pace plus i-Pace EVs.

Across the Classic Car Friday and King of the Hill events there were many more, such as a classic E-Type and an XJR. And it really was worth staying for the entire weekend just to scope out a bevy of Porsches, a raspy Corvette, and an onslaught of single seater race cars. Classic Minis, retro Abarths, pristine Alfas and muscular Cobras. Several Shelby-branded Mustangs also took to the hill to state their claim including a Ford Ranger that went on to tackle a Dakar-ready Nissan Navara.

Not to be outdone there was also a Ford GT40 representing the Blue Oval, plus a solitary BMW Alpina 3 Series, Toyota MR2 touring car and more. Too many to mention if I’m honest.

There are few events on the calendar that can claim to be this full of petrol-swilling exotica that can driven in total anger, often over the weekend. Nor can they claim a pit lane this interesting with both drivers and cars.

Results:

You can see the rest of the results here