CAPE TOWN: Franco Scribante claimed the King of the Mountain title at the inaugural Speed Classic Cape Town on Sunday 26 October, driving his 2018 Nissan GTR R35 to victory on the closed-off Philip Kgosana Drive in the city.
Scribante set a time of 35.260 seconds on the 1.8km track, finishing 0.599 seconds ahead of Reghard Roets, who drove a 2014 Nissan GTR R35 to second place with a time of 35.859 seconds. Dawie Joubert completed the podium with a time of 37.407 seconds in his Lotus Exige.
Pieter Zeelie, who had regularly topped the timing charts and was in contention for the crown throughout the day on Sunday, suffered a faulty start in his final run during the King of the Mountain shootout, putting him out of contention to be the fastest car on the day.
From Ferraris to 1000hp monsters
Close to 80 supercars and hillclimb monsters competed under the shadow of Table Mountain, with cars reaching top speeds of nearly 240km/h.
Sunday’s field included everything from modern Ferraris, McLarens and Lamborghinis to modified single seaters and saloon cars with over 1000hp, while Saturday featured a range of nearly 70 classic cars – from single seaters steeped in racing history, to modified classic road cars.
“It was a really great day for us. We were absolutely nowhere when we got to the Class Finals, so I knew we would have to dig deep. But I didn’t know if it would be enough, so it was a miracle that it all came together for the final run and I cannot wait to be back again next year,” said Scribante, who had settled for second place on Classic Car Saturday.
Battle of the Classics
It was Charles Arton that claimed the Classic Champion title on Saturday by setting a winning time of 40.143 in his 1979 March 79A.
Scribante in his Chevron B19, set a time of 40.362 in the Classic Champion finale. Scribante had broken the 40 second mark in his Class Finals run, which set the grid for the Classic Champion shootout. However, Arton was able to come out ahead of Scribante in the day’s final run.
The podium was rounded out by James Temple, who clocked 43.245 in his Shelby Daytona Coupe. Temple bettered his time of 44.614 in the Class Finals run, but it did not prove to be enough to unseat either Arton or Scribante.
Racing beneath iconic mountain backdrop
Speed Classic Cape Town Race Director Enzo Kuun described the course as one of the “most scenic tracks in the world.”
“To race with Table Mountain to my right, the Atlantic Ocean to my left and Lion’s Head behind me was an absolute privilege and epic experience,” Kuun said.
The event attracted close to 15 000 spectators through the gates, with close to 180 000 joining the livestreams across Saturday and Sunday.
Speed Classic Cape Town event director Garth Mackintosh said the event is poised to establish itself as a premier hillclimb event following the successful first weekend.
“To see our vision come to fruition has been extremely satisfying. I think you can only get bigger and better from here and we are ready to invest and create a future event that can only go from strength-to-strength,” Mackintosh said.
The results for both days can be accessed on the Speed Classic Cape Town website.
Watch the full Speed Classic Cape Town coverage on YouTube.
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