Wheels_13May2017

April 13, 2017

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Baic D20 hits SA market ALWYN VILJOEN CAR dealers are reserving judgment on the latest Chinese car maker to launch in SA after Beijing Automotive Group (Baic) yesterday launched their D20 hatch and sedan models to local buyers.

While the launch models are fully im­ ported from China, Baic and the Depart­ ment of Trade and Industry said they intend to assemble the vehicles at the R11 million greenfields plant being built in Koega from next year.

The suspension of the Smart Four­ Four was very well tuned for city use to start with, but Baic contracted UK engi­ neering company Mira to tune the sus­ pension for the rougher roads in the 44 countries in which it sells its vehicles.

Occupants in the front ride in semi­ bucket seats and bench rear seat of the hatch split 60:40 or folds forward to pro­ vide 1 190 litres of load space, while the sedan’s luggage boot capacity is 450 li­ tres.

The trip computer provides instanta­ neous fuel consumption, a very useful feature to train oneself to drive more fru­

gally. The Fashion models also have a 6,5­inch touchscreen with a GPS naviga­ tion system and a comprehensive audio system with six speakers.

ENGINES Power for the D20 comes from two new, four­cylinder petrol engines, an entry level with Baic’s 1,3­litre engine (75 kW/128Nm) and the remainder of the range all powered by a 1,5­litre engine (85 kW/148 Nm) While the peak work rate, or Watts, happens at a high 6 000 revs, the real power of both engines, its Newton metres, places nicely between 3 800­4 800r/min, which should provide an easy drive in third gear through the city.

Power goes to the front wheels via a five­speed manual gearbox or four­speed automatic transmission, with the latter having

three mode settings: Eco for saving fuel, Snow for a smooth pull­off on loose sur­ faces and Sport for a delayed shift when driving enthusiastically.

Two airbags up front and disc brakes on all four wheels with ABS (anti­skid braking) and EBD (electronic brake dis­ tribution) using a Bosch system creates a platform for safer driving, while a park assist system with audible and visible warnings is standard on all models.

Creature comforts include power

steering with variable electric power as­ sistance, and adjustable steering column height­adjustable headlights with auto on and rain sensors standard on all mod­ els except the entry­level 1,3­litre.

LONG­TERM COMMITMENT Joy Balipele, programme manager at the Industrial Development Corporation, told Wheels the factory at Koega will be part of a localisation strategy with the focus on

empowering black industrialists as part of the DTI’s bigger aim to make and ex­ port millions of vehicles from SA. Ensur­ ing parts availability through local sup­ pliers forms a big part of this strategy.

The BAIC D20 is covered by a five­ year/120 000 km warranty. Service in­ tervals are 10 000 km. There is a free ser­ vice at 3 000 km. Optional service and maintenance plans are available through the dealers.

PRICES D20 Hatch 1,3M/T Comfort R149 990 D20 Hatch 1,5M/T Com­ fort R169 990 D20 Hatch 1,5M/T Fashion R179 990 D20 Hatch 1,5A/T Fashion R189 990 D20 Sedan 1,5A/T Fash­ ion R209 990

The D20 hatch is a modern vehicle with a proven track­record, while the The B20 sedan offers a large boot for family travels.

PHOTO: SUPPLIED

TYRES & MAGS COMBO’S 13” FROM R 4 899 14’’ FROM R 5 499 15” FROM R 6 450 17” FROM R 7 899 18” FROM R 9 999

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WitnessWheels MOTORING

April 13, 2017

Pilloried for not having airbags, the Datsun Go is nevertheless safer than any car people over 40 grew up in, thanks to active and passive safety features built into the structure of the car.

PHOTO: DATSUN

When a noisy shudder is a good noise in a car SIMON HAW

Gobbling up grass and serving the strips to you Our most innovative use for the wheel this week goes to Duzi Turf, whose farm recently started harvesting with the Bouwer Kesmac 2200 Automatic Sod Harvester. The system bolts to the side of a tractor and operator Tanashi Mubata says it does what it says on the side of the box, precisely cutting sods and presenting the metre­long strips of grass to two stackers riding on a platform on the back. Seen here are Vasha Thakur and Adam Asthon of Duzi Turf, who said apart from the noise cancelling, dust damping and shock absorbing benefits of grass, lawns also form a huge part of a green lung in any suburb to create oxygen for families.

PHOTO: SUPPLIED

Seriously supersonic SUV Jeep’s new Trackhawk billed as world’s most powerful SUV SCOTT COLLIE JEEP unveiled what it billed as the world’s most powerful SUV at this week’s 2017 New York Auto Show.

The Grand Cherokee SRT Trackhawk has a tuned V8 from the Dodge Hellcat crammed into its engine bay, making the Trackhawk the quickest, most powerful four­wheel drive to emerge from the Jeep factory.

The supercharged V8 pumps out 527 kW and 874 Nm, which is enough to hit 100 km/h in just 3,6 seconds.

Sure, the Tesla Model X has it covered off the line, but the Trackhawk clocks an identical 11,6­second quarter mile, and keeps pulling through to 290 km/h.

Compared to the downsized, turbo­ charged and electrified powertrains mak­ ing their way into rival SUVs, the engine in the Trackhawk isn’t particularly so­ phisticated. With that said, Dodge left no stone unturned when developing it for the Hellcat. Water jackets between the cylin­ ders help keep things cool, and the forged­ steel crankshaft is designed to handle fir­ ing pressures up to 1 600 psi.

Putting this prodigious power to the

The Grand Cherokee SRT Trackhawk.

PHOTO: SUPPLIED road requires some serious work on the drivetrain. The on­demand four­wheel drive system, which now includes an elec­ tronic limited­slip differential on the rear axle, makes use of forged steel chain sprockets and a new chain in the transfer case to handle the power. Meanwhile, a new driveshaft is hooked up to a stronger rear axle, and the rear differential is mounted using a new four­point mount to better distribute load. Launch control is standard, so that’s probably for the best.

Unlike the Hellcat, which is available in manual, the Jeep will only be offered with an eight­speed automatic gearbox.

Keen drivers might be disappointed but,

in spite of its name, the Trackhawk is more likely to be driven on the school run than the racetrack.

Anyone with dreams of track­day hero­ ics will be pleased to know Jeep has tweaked the standard Grand Cherokee SRT suspension to handle the extra power on tap. Stopping is dealt with by 400 mm two­piece brake rotors up front and 350 mm vented rear rotors, which help deliver a stopping distance of just 36 me­ tres from 100 km/h.

By now, it should be clear the Track­ hawk is all about standing out. It sits 15 mm lower than the regular SRT V8, and a smattering of “Supercharged” badges scattered around the exterior let onlook­ ers know this isn’t an average grocery­get­ ter.

Inside, the standard cabin has been tarted up with some soft­touch leather, while the central touchscreen now dou­ bles as a mobile performance meter. The speedo runs to 320 km/h as well. Music­ loving owners will be pleased to know the car has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Pricing hasn’t been announced, but ex­ pect the car to set you back around $80 000 (R1,1 million). — New Atlas.

THE appearance of the Datsun Go, the Go+ and most recently the Ren­ ault Kwid on the South African mar­ ket has stirred up a certain amount of controversy.

While these budget cars have lev­ els of digital connectivity not usually encountered in the four­wheels­and­ an­engine brigade, they have been heavily criticised in some quarters for their rather rudimentary nod to safety. And indeed there is some­ thing ironical about the fact that cars that would not be allowed anywhere near a European road are freely avail­ able to the least experienced drivers on some of the world’s most danger­ ous roads.

The purpose of this article, howev­ er, is not to consider whether cars like my 1962 Harry Potteresque Ford An­ glia should or should not be allowed on our roads, but to give a brief over­ view of the various safety features that might or might not be found in your dashing new set of wheels.

There are basically two major cate­ gories of safety features. The first consist of design features and add­ ons to improve your chances of emerging from an accident not only alive but with no or at least fewer and less severe injuries.

The second category consists of those, mainly electronic, features de­ signed to prevent your having an ac­ cident in the first place. Some of the first category are built into the car, such as crumple zones to absorb the energy generated by an accident and reinforced passenger cells that main­ tain their structural integrity in all but the most severe accidents.

The interiors of modern cars also reflect the concern with safety.

You won’t for instance find a metal horn ring like the one in my brother’s 1960s Opel Kadett, which broke dur­ ing a minor argument with a kerb and caused quite severe damage to his wrist. More obvious to the occupants than these designed­in features are fitments like seatbelts — the modern variety first appeared on Volvo cars in the late 1960s and, more contro­ versially, airbags.

Electronic safety features More interesting, however, are the clever devices designed to prevent

you from having an accident in the first place.

These are usually signalled by an alphabet soup of acronyms and most of them work on the braking system.

In this article, I will discuss three of the most common: Anti­lock braking system (ABS): Locked­up wheels during emergency braking can be almost as bad as hav­ ing no brakes at all, as they lead to loss of control over the vehicle. The first ABS system was developed by Bosch and first appeared on the 1978 Mercedes S­Class. The system in­ volves an individual hydraulic feed to each wheel as well as wheel sensors.

When the vehicle’s ECU picks up that one of the wheels is slowing down in relation to the other wheels — that is it is about to lock up — it releases the brake pressure to this wheel (or wheels) and then rapidly reapplies it — this is the same as feathering the brake, a skill taught in advanced driving courses.

The driver experiences the activa­ tion of ABS as a noisy shuddering.

With the advances in electronics, ABS has become considerably cheaper and more effective than it used to be and the argument is gain­ ing strength that it should be fitted as standard to all vehicles on South African roads.

Electronic brake­force distribu­ tion (EBD): This is basically a subsys­ tem of ABS. It allows brake­force to be varied among the four wheels. For instance, most cars have a braking bi­ as towards the front wheels, but in certain situations it may be advanta­ geous to switch this bias to the back wheels. EBD does this.

Electronic stability control (ESC): This is the generic name for a system that goes by several other acronyms, depending on the manufacturer. It can be seen as a further refinement of the ABS system and basically com­ pares the direction in which the driv­ er wishes to go according to the steering wheel to the direction in which the car is actually travelling.

The system then uses the braking of individual wheels to bully the vehi­ cle into following the driver’s in­ structions. While we await the ad­ vance of self­driving cars, with some predicting sales in three years, these systems are what help to keep safe the nut that holds the wheel.

NEW RULE FOR TRUCKERS TO MOZ

To advertise your company in

Call Avir Thulsiram on 084 278 3447 OR 033 355 1152 email: Avir@witness.co.za

THE Mozambican Revenue Authori­ ty (MRA) will roll out the second phase of the Single Road Cargo Manifest process on June 16, when all international road carriers (na­ tional and international) transport­ ing goods to Mozambique through the Ressano Garcia border post will be required to submit the Road Cargo Manifest on the Single Electronic Window platform in compliance with national and in­

ternational legislation.

All road carriers must therefore register on the SEW platform and foreign carriers must apply for a NUIT number with the Mozambi­ can Revenue Authority between April 15 and June 15.

The registration process is set out in the Service Order, copies of which, together with the NUIT ap­ plication form, may be obtained from MCLI at admin@mcli.co.za.

MOTORING WitnessWheels

April 13, 2017

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‘Timing right for reforms’ Mechanics, panelbeaters, used­car sellers and insurers want to use non­branded, cheaper parts ALWYN VILJOEN PEOPLE’S desire to repair a dented car as cheaply as possible versus manufac­ turers’ desire to sell their patented and trademarked parts for as high a price as the market can bear do not make easy bedfellows.

Which was why emotions ran high at a recent Competition Commission Au­ tomotive Aftermarket Workshop, where proponents of the Right to Repair move­ ment aired their views.

Speakers at the recent Automotive Aftermarket Workshop, hosted by the Competition Commission, presented their views of the current state of play in the industry, many not without emo­ tion.

The event took place on March 17 at The Capital, Menlyn Main, Pretoria and aimed to gather industry stakeholders as part of an information­gathering ses­ sion for the Competition Commission.

The topic being addressed was exclu­ sionary practices in the motor industry.

Vishal Premlall, director of the Motor Industry Workshop Association (Mi­ wa), said the insights shared from vari­ ous stakeholders showed how invested people are in making sure change hap­ pens in this sector.

“Representatives from insurers to panel beaters and mechanics agree that the status quo cannot continue as it is exclusionary and unsustainable,” he said.

Miwa directly represents over 2 500 independent aftermarket workshops and indirectly a further 5 000 odd non­ member aftermarket workshops. The

Actress Fulu Mugovhani starred in Ayanda and the Mechanic, a 2015 coming­of­age movie of a 21­ year­old ‘Afro­ hipster’, who fights to save her late father’s motor repair shop, a situation many repair shops find themselves in the world over thanks to restrictive practices by Original Equipment Manufacturers.

PHOTO: FILE membership covers workshops from start­up businesses to five­star work­ shops.

A sample and tested survey conducted among its members revealed that 43,47% are historically disadvantaged individuals’ workshops and 50,21% have a BBBEE status.

“Workshops are generally mom­and­ pop­owned businesses, employing up to 10 staff members who support up to six

dependents. The substantial invest­ ments to start up a small aftermarket workshop is often a cash­out of life­long pension funds. Protecting this invest­ ment against economic pressure re­ mains a challenge for these business owners,” Premlall explained.

“While we understand the foreign di­ rect investments that manufacturers put into South Africa have natural benefits like job creation, we are also aware that

the automotive aftermarket employs a greater number of employees with a far higher value creation in South Africa.

“The model as it stands is slowly squeezing out the little business at the bottom of the chain trying to remain sus­ tainable in an already difficult market,” said Premlall Viviene Pearson, a representative for the South African Insurance Association (SAIA), pointed out that premiums are

becoming unaffordable because of the price of repairs.

“Only 35% of cars in South Africa are insured because consumers are under pressure. Alternate quality parts do exist and could go a long way to bringing down the cost of insurance premiums if used in repairs,” she said.

“The timing is right for reforms,” said Leonard Smith from the South African Auto Repairer and Salvage Association (SAARSA). He told the audience that pre­2002 car repairs were done based on skill.

After 2002 car repairs became all about investment as Original Equip­ ment Manufacturers (OEM) started dic­ tating which specialised and expensive equipment needed to be used.

“Many workshops could not afford to comply. There are further barriers to en­ try. Even those who do comply still don’t get work,” he said.

Moving forward, Jakkie Olivier, CEO of the Retail Motor Industry (RMI), a broadly representative collective voice for the automotive aftermarket repre­ senting 14 different trade associations, confirmed the RMI would be convening workshops with its trade associations to prepare a draft code which will be sub­ mitted to the Competition Commission for consideration.

“We will offer our full co­operation to the commission to help reach a worka­ ble solution in the best interest of all and we are willing to take the lead on this initiative, together with affected stake­ holders,” said Olivier.

• alwyn.viljoen@witness.co.za

Cars for people without a driver’s licence Township tyre traders are driving transformation STUTTGART — Bosch and Daimler are joining forces to advance the develop­ ment of fully automated and driverless driving.

The companies entered into a develop­ ment agreement to bring fully automated (SAE Level 4) and driverless (SAE Level 5) driving to urban roads by 2020.

The objective is to develop software and algorithms for an autonomous driv­ ing system. The project combines the to­ tal vehicle expertise of the world’s leading premium manufacturer with the system and hardware expertise of the world’s big­ gest supplier. The ensuing synergies should ensure the earliest possible series introduction of the secure technology.

The technology will, among other things, boost the attraction of car shar­ ing. It will allow people to make the best possible use of their time in the vehicle and open up new mobility opportunities for people without a driver’s licence, for example. The prime objective of the project is to achieve the production­ready development of a driving system which

An artist’s impression of a world with self­driving cars.

PHOTO: DAIMLER will allow cars to drive fully autonomous­ ly in the city.

The idea behind it is that the vehicle should come to the driver rather than the other way round. Within a specified area

of town, customers will be able to order an automated shared car via their smart­ phone. The vehicle will then make its way autonomously to the user and the onward journey can begin. — WR.

Ford and GM lead driverless research A REPORT by Navigant Research puts Ford and General Motors (GM) current­ ly ahead in the race to develop cars that don’t need drivers.

Navitech said automated driving is in­ creasingly seen as the answer to societal problems caused by the proliferation of automobiles around the world.

These include traffic congestion, inju­ ries, and fatalities caused by crashes and air quality. While patents to automate driving date back to the 1950s (and some would argue were perfected in the horse and carriage system) research has accel­ erated in the last decade, enabled by ad­ vancements in computational architec­ tures and sensing technology, along with dramatic cost reductions.

These advancements, combined with

vehicle electrification and ubiquitous connectivity, are enabling automated driving to rapidly become viable. A large group of companies are actively develop­ ing complete automated driving systems and the components that go into those systems.

Several of these companies entered this market recently, but rapidly moved into contention through acquisitions, in­ vestments, and strategic hiring of key per­ sonnel. Others have been working on au­ tomated driving technology for decades.

This Navigant Research Leaderboard Report rated the companies on 10 crite­ ria: vision; go­to market strategy; part­ ners; production strategy; technology; sales, marketing, and distribution; prod­ uct capability; product quality and relia­

bility; product portfolio; and staying power.

Companies are profiled, rated, and ranked with the goal of providing an ob­ jective assessment of their relative strengths and weaknesses in the global market for automated driving systems.

— WR. Top 10 automated drivers: 1. Ford 2. GM 3. Renault­Nissan Alliance 4. Daimler 5. Volkswagen Group 6. BMW 7. Waymo 7. Volvo/Autoliv/Zenuity 9. Delphi 10. Hyundai Motor Group

HEEDING the government’s call for radical economic transformation, Su­ mitomo Rubber SA has launched the Dunlop Enterprise Development Pro­ gramme to empower township entre­ preneurs through employment crea­ tion, skills transfer and training.

Although Dunlop — Sumitomo Rubber SA’s iconic brand — has for the past five years employed its experience to unlock small­business ownership in the informal sector, the Dunlop Enter­ prise Development Programme was officially unveiled at the 2017 Naacam Show in Durban as a transformational catalyst to create and grow township tyre traders.

The National Association of Auto­ motive Component and Allied Manu­ facturers of South Africa (Naacam) show is a platform from which to grow the automotive component and relat­ ed manufacturing sectors in South Af­ rica, and the first trade show was held at the Durban ICC from April 5 to April 7.

Riaz Haffejee, CEO of Sumitomo Rubber SA, said the company took a stance in 2012 to pursue this pro­ gramme and saw the role that it could play in economic inclusion by working with the government to accelerate transformation, thus helping to allevi­ ate the triple challenges of poverty, un­ employment and inequality.

Dunlop­branded containers are transformed into tyre fitment centres and provide opportunities for unem­ ployed youth and women to be trained and mentored in tyre sales and repair.

“By fostering greater entrepreneurial activity in townships and informal are­ as, the Dunlop Enterprise Develop­ ment Programme encourages self­em­ ployment and stimulates job creation,” he said.

He said the company had noticed there were many informal tyre busi­

nesses in the townships. However, they had little access to reputable tyre man­ ufacturers although there was a market for professional tyre services. Mean­ while, second­hand tyres and even re­ grooved tyres were in high demand.

“As a responsible corporate citizen, we saw it as our role to make safe and high­quality products available to this market and took the gap,” Haffejee said.

He said the Dunlop Enterprise De­ velopment Programme was the first of its kind in the tyre market and it has been a key focus area in Dunlop’s distri­ bution channel growth strategy.

“With the support of a widely recog­ nised brand, the container programme has enjoyed exponential growth and success in the tyre market,” he said, adding that the programme also pro­ vides branding, tyre training, mentor­ ship and marketing support to con­ tainer owners and their staff.

“The informal economy is not dis­ connected from the first or formal economy, but functions according to different entrepreneurial rules.

“We have acknowledged this and can demonstrate that through proper skills transfer and training, township tyre traders can run profitable and sus­ tainable enterprises that offer stable self­employment and sustainable live­ lihoods,” Haffejee said.

Dunlop has established 83 container tyre outlets in townships throughout SA, 17 of which are in KwaZulu­Natal, and more than R50 million worth of tyres have been sold from township container outlets. As testament to the value of the programme, Smangele Dladla, container owner of Stormza Tyres in Ntuzuma, spoke at the Naa­ cam event. “For five years, I was a ven­ dor selling food on the roadside. To­ day, I have my own business and em­ ploy two staff,” she said. — Supplied.

WitnessWheels MOTORING

RACING

4

Des Gutzeit’s 1 100 kW Nissan Skyline GT­R, flapping a wheel arch cover after shaving an apex at speed. BELOW: Enzo Kuun’s 522 kW V8 is force­fed on nitrous oxide. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED

April 13, 2017

Anton Cronje’s 400 kW Subaru Impreza WRX. BELOW: No more knives at gunfights, Ricky Giannoccaro’s has a new turbo on his Nissan GTR­powered BMW M3 and is ready to rumble.

Three Kings vie for one Hill Racing drivers from the renowned Inde Motorsports Ranch in Arizona challenge the locals ALREADY renowned as South Africa’s premier motorsport event, the Jaguar Si­ mola Hillclimb just gets better and more spectacular every year.

And this is certainly the case for the 2017 event, scheduled from May 5 to May 7, which is expected to garner a whole new level of competition and spectator interest following the adop­ tion of three separate King of the Hill categories and respective titles up for grabs.

Of particular interest is the impend­ ing battle between the modified saloon cars, or tin­tops as they’re commonly re­ ferred to, which now compete for their own King of the Hill crown, as do the single­seater and sports racing cars, as well as the standard road cars and super­ cars.

“The introduction of individual King of the Hill titles with equal status for the three categories allows similar types of cars to compete against each other, and represents the natural evolution of the Hillclimb as the cars have become a lot more specialised,” says Jaguar Simola Hillclimb sporting director Geoff God­ dard.

“The modified saloon car category is not only by far the biggest with 39 en­ tries, but is also expected to produce one of the most exciting battles this year.”

Indeed, with no fewer than three former King of the Hill title winners in the mix, there’s plenty to look forward to.

The fastest balie from KwaZulu­Na­ tal’s south coast, Des Gutzeit, will be back in his explosive Nissan Skyline GT­R R32 with over 1 100 kW on tap.

He is undoubtedly one of the firm fa­ vourites for the King of the Hill title after winning the 2015 event and being last

year’s overall runner­up, with a best time of 40,324 seconds.

“I think having separate categories is a move in the right direction, because no matter how much power we have, a heavy production­based car will never be a match for the lightweight single­ seaters and sports cars,” Gutzeit says.

“My goal is to try and break the 40­sec barrier after having a lot of issues with the car last year, particularly with the fuel we were using.

“I was actually faster in 2015, so we have gone back to basics and have also done a lot of work on the suspension set­up. We are coming well prepared this year,” he said.

Gutzeit will be going head­to­head with the likes of 2011 champion Wilhelm Baard, who is among the mighty contin­ gent of extensively modified new­gener­ ation R35 Nissan GT­Rs, along with hot contenders Darron Gudmanz, Quinsley Sale and former circuit­racing star Reg­ hardt Roets, who is due to make his Hill­ climb debut.

Geoff Mortimer, the 2010 winner, will be back in a highly­tuned Nissan 350z.

A new addition to the line­up this year is karting champion Aldo Scribante, who has entered an extensively reworked ver­ sion of the ex­Terry Moss Racing Audi S4. As a cousin of double Hillclimb win­ ner Franco, the family has a long and proud legacy in motor racing dating back to the 1960s. This includes grandfather Aldo Scribante who ran the SA Lotus Formula 1 team with Dave Charlton, who won six consecutive titles, and also built the famous Port Elizabeth race track that was subsequently named after him.

“I’m really looking forward to the Hillclimb, as it is a great event and I think my car will be very well suited to this

event,” Scribante says. “We’re doing a lot of work on the car, taking it from the Production Car racing specification and raising the power to around 525 kW, making it about 150 kg lighter with a car­ bon fibre body kit, and doing a lot of work on aerodynamics with a front split­ ter, rear diffuser and GTC rear wing.”

Another fierce four­wheel drive com­ petitor will be Anton Cronje, who is al­ ways among the leading contenders in his racing Subaru Impreza WRX. Cronje is aiming to go quite a bit faster this year, having reduced weight in the car by 60 kg, improving the aerodynam­ ics and extracting more power to un­ leash about 400 kW on the wheels.

“We have also fitted a paddle shift gearbox which allows much quicker gear changes, and I’m importing soft race tyr­ es, so I’m pretty confident that I can break below 40 sec this year,” he said.

Rear wheel drive brigade Although the 4WD cars clearly have a start­line advantage, fans can look for­ ward to a determined challenge from the rear­wheel drive brigade too, including a trio of 5.7­litre V8 Masters cars — with 2015 Classic Conqueror winner Charles Arton once again competing in the cus­ tom­built race machines.

Notably, the 2017 Jaguar Simola Hill­ climb will see racing drivers from the re­ nowned Inde Motorsports Ranch near Tucson, Arizona, joining the fray — thus adding to the international flavour and appeal of this award­winning event.

The line­up includes Kai Goddard, an accomplished racer and lead profession­ al driver for the multi­faceted motor­ sport oasis, as well as its vice­president of business development.

Goddard was instrumental in secur­

ing multiple American GT and touring car champion Randy Pobst for the 2017 Hillclimb, who will be competing in Jag­ uar­backed entries in both Classic Car Friday and King of the Hill for road and supercars. Inde Motorsports Ranch member Steve Kimpton will be compet­ ing alongside Goddard in an identical V8 Masters car in Class B6, along with the thundering WesBank Modified­era 6.3­litre V8 Opel Rekord of Willie Hep­ burn and a Lexus­powered Chevrolet Corvette driven by Craig Czank.

Force­fed engines Another regular Jaguar Simola Hillclimb competitor will also be taking on the challenging 1,9 km hill in a V8 Masters car — but with a difference.

Former rally champion Enzo Kuun is upping the ante in a modified version featuring NOs, or nitrous oxide injec­ tion, which places him in Class B3 for force­fed engines.

“It’s difficult to judge where we will fit in, but we try and improve every year with a bit more power, as it seems that’s the name of the game,” Kuun says.

“The first year we came to the Hill­ climb we had 500 hp, then added 100 hp in 2016, and now this year we will have about 700 hp (522 kW) as we’ve fitted a nitrous pack on the engine.

“The challenge is to get off the line quickly in a two­wheel drive car. We saw last year that our last sector is pretty much as fast as the winning cars, but our first sector is where the problem lies.

We’ll give it our best shot.

“It’s always great to just make the cut for the Hillclimb, as this event has reached such a status that just getting an entry is an achievement in itself, and we’re really looking forward to compet­

climb course.

All tickets purchased via www.iTick­ ets.co.za will qualify for the daily draws, with the winners contacted by cellphone

and invited to the pit lane for this exclu­ sive adrenaline­charged ride, seated alongside one of Jaguar’s advanced driv­ ers.

Des Gutzeit,

KZN’s fastest balie:

‘My goal is to try and break the 40­ second barrier this year.’

CV Joint speCialists

Golden Tickets A HANDFUL of lucky visitors to the 2017 Jaguar Simola Hillclimb will win an experience of a lifetime, with an exhila­ rating ride in a Jaguar up the 1,9 km Hill­

ing this year,” he says.

Kuun also believes that dividing King of the Hill into three categories is a good move.

“The reason the Jaguar Simola Hill­ climb has become the ultimate event on the SA motorsport calendar is because it’s put together by a team of organisers that think progressively, listen to com­ petitors and allow the event to evolve, which makes it really exciting for the drivers and spectators.”

The two­wheel drive fight in Class B3 also features the Giannoccaro family, with father Jimmy racing a Chev V8­ powered BMW Z4 specifically built for hillclimbs, along with his two sons — Ricky now sporting a turbocharged ver­ sion of the BMW M3 GTR he ran last year, while Gianni will be driving a full race­spec turbocharged BMW 135i.

“Last year we brought a knife to a gun­ fight, this year we’re coming with all guns blazing,” Ricky said confidently.

Clearly sparks will be flying in the modified saloon car King of the Hill challenge, which guarantees a spectacu­ lar two days of action that simply cannot be missed!

Be sure to secure your day, weekend and pit access tickets online at iTickets, and stand a chance of winning a Golden Ticket to a ride of a lifetime.

for CV joints, ball joints, tie rod ends, wheel bearings.

341 GReYlinG stReet Pmb. 033 342 9174/75