RACING CARS BURN ON N2

8/05/2017:- At least five racing cars from this weekend’s Simola Hill Climb were burned beyond recognition on a trailer travelling on the N2 between Knysna and Sedgefield . Eyewitnesses say the fire started sometime before 11am as the vehicle carrier was approaching  the Groenvlei Lake. The vehicle carrier parked on the side of the busy highway and drivers of other vehicles watched in amazement as millions of Rands worth of racing technology went up in smoke.

A statement from the Jaguar Simola Hillclimb reads as follows.

Expensive and irreplaceable race cars damaged in fire while in transit 

KNYSNA, South Africa, 8 May 2017 – Following reports of a vehicle transporter catching fire on the N2 near George this morning, the organisers of the Jaguar Simola Hillclimb can confirm that the truck was carrying several vehicles that had competed in the Knysna-based motorsport event over the weekend.

There are no reports of anyone being injured in the incident, with one of the vehicles reportedly having caught fire while in transit, resulting in the fire spreading rapidly and causing extensive damage to the vehicles. The fire has since been extinguished.

Ian Shrosbree, managing director of Knysna Speed Festival and organiser and founder of the Jaguar Simola Hillclimb, expressed his dismay and distress after hearing of the incident.

“After the resounding success of the last three days where each of the participating vehicles becomes part of the essence of the competition – this disaster impacts on us all. The loss of complete vehicles (some of them one-of-a-kind and literally irreplaceable) and the damage to others cannot be quantified.

“It is much, much more than just the value of what has gone up in flames.”

The cause of the fire is unclear at this stage, but will be investigated. The value of the affected vehicles has not yet been determined.

Picture by Henri Terblanche.

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