Being held this year for the third time in the scenic surrounds of the dense Knysna forests, the Renault Knysna Hillclimb went bigger than ever before with a host of supporting events drawing the crowds throughout a full week of petrolheaded fun as the Knysna Speed Week.
The main event however remains the Hillclimb itself, which this year saw competitor entries restricted to 80 as organisers were forced to balance participant numbers with available time as well as keeping strict control of proceedings for the safety of both participants and spectators alike.
The distinctive Nissan brand was easily the strongest represented in the field of competitors, with a total of 15 Nissan vehicles in the 80-strong lineup. These included a heavily modified 200SX as well as a great variety of R32, R33 and R34 Skyline GT-Rs most sporting substantial tuning investment. There were also no less than four R35 GT-Rs which proved to be the cars to beat for ultimate glory over the course of the Hillclimb weekend.
By the close of proceedings on Sunday, the day had been convincingly won by Wilhelm Baard of Global Nissan in his distinctive bright-green R35 GT-R. Driven with bravery and abundant skill the car blitzed the circa 2km course in an incredible 42.444 seconds, representing an average speed of 161.152 km/h from a standing start and over a tight and fairly twisty route – a performance which is going to be very difficult to beat in years to come.
Defending champion and motorsport legend Geoff Mortimer poured all of his substantial skill into trying to close the 0.7-second gap between his time and Baard’s, utilising the substantial horsepower being developed by his extensively modified Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX to its full as well as every inch of road surface available on his daring runs up the hill route. But third place was the best this stellar performance could manage against the crushing might of the Nissan GT-R contingent, recording a best time of 43.108 seconds on the 1.9 km run. The result was enough for Mortimer to claim a class win for the A1 category.
Between Baard and Mortimer was yet another GT-R driven by Jade Gudzeit, with a time of 42.659 seconds which was enough to secure victory in the B2 class. In the process beating his own father’s time in yet another GT-R by almost a second – Des Gudzeit posted a best run of 43.558 seconds by the end of the weekend.
In the typically understated way of a true racing driver, Baard responded afterwards to questions about the modifications on his car; “Yes, it’s a standard GT-R. We strengthened the gearbox and fitted larger turbos for extra boost, but the stock drivetrain still provided all the grip and pin-sharp handling I needed on that course despite the extra kilowatts we liberated from the 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6.”
While a burning competitive spirit had driven Baard to up the ante in his GT-R for the outright win, the excellence of the standard package was proven by the performance of even totally stock Nissan GT-Rs scoring highly in the final results, ahead of big-name competitors from well known motorsport-oriented manufacturers. The 2011 Renault Knysna Hillclimb will long be remembered as the year of the Nissan GT-R, as this astounding supercar definitively demonstrated its leading performance credentials in a genuinely home-grown motorsport event securing the top positions in classes A2 and B2.
The event also underscored the exceptional heritage which led up to the development of the GT-R as we see it today, with legendary previous-generation GT-Rs also scoring well in the final results and showing the natural progression of this iconic nameplate from sought-after sports car to the full-blown supercar status of the latest model.
STORY BY NISSAN
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