Classic Car Friday kickstarts 2022 Simola Hillclimb as erstwhile machines tackle the course

• The 2022 Simola Hillclimb kicked off with action in Classic Car Friday.

• Competitors lined up in various cars, and some went all out in a bid to be crowned Classic Conqueror.

• Ian Schofield won Classic Car Friday with a time of 42.302 seconds.

• For more motoring stories, visit Wheels24

The 2022 Simola Hillclimb has officially kicked off spectacularly as a host of classic cars took to the 1.9km Simola Hill in Knysna as part of Classic Car Friday. It was a sight to behold as competitors lined up in classics from yore, old school racing cars, and modified sports monsters dialled up to 11!

Of course, the day's running was not without fault, as several drivers either slowed down or pulled to the side of the road with mechanical and technical issues. Still, the gremlins failed to deter other competitors who raced up the Hill to set the fastest possible time.

Now, just because these are classic cars does not mean that they are slow. As the first competitors in Classic Car Friday took to the track, times were hovering around the 1min30s. Expectedly, the 'slowest' classics took to the Hill first, followed by faster cars. And boy, were these cars fast!

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The practice sessions on Day 1 of the #SimolaHillclimb are done, and the last of the runners are making their way down to the pits. Now we're about to get serious!#Suzuki @Suzuki_ZA pic.twitter.com/gACBnerGKJ

A mixed breed

At the end of the second practice session, Rui Campos set a time of 48.235 seconds in his Porsche 911 RSR. He was almost four seconds clear of second-placed Charles Arton (52.128sec) in a Datsun 240Z. Page Lindenberg, from Shelby South Africa and racing a heavily modified Ford