American racing champion headed to Jaguar Simola Hillclimb in Knysna

Pobst boasts an illustrious career in motorsport, with four decades of racing experience. Among his more than 90 professional race wins are 19 championship titles – including nine Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) championships, four World Challenge GT championships, two IMSA championships and two victories at the 24 Hours of Daytona.

“I’d heard many wonderful things from friends about the Jaguar Simola Hillclimb and South Africa. When Jaguar and the organisers got in touch to invite me, I felt honoured, thrilled, and I simply knew that I had to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Pobst.

Benchmark lap times

Pobst will be attending on behalf of MotorTrend, an American motoring publication. Since 2009 he has been MotorTrend’s go-to driver, entrusted with putting in benchmark lap times for performance tests of machinery ranging from entry-level sports cars to exotic track-only race cars. While this day job sees him doing testing at famous American race circuits, including Road Atlanta and Laguna Seca, he remains active in amateur and professional motorsport series across the United States.

His participation in the Jaguar Simola Hillclimb will see Pobst face off against drivers in the Road car and Supercar category.

Jaguar F-TYPE SVR

He will be driving a Jaguar F-TYPE SVR. The fastest F-TYPE is motivated by a supercharged V8, with outputs of 423kW and 700Nm, and features additional engineering to further enhance its dynamic performance through the bends. This includes bespoke suspension components, unique calibration of its Intelligent Driveline Dynamics all-wheel drive system and weight saving through the extensive use of lightweight materials.

This year’s Jaguar Simola Hillclimb starts with Classic Car Friday, on 5 May, where owners of historic road and race cars can compete in their iconic cars for the Classic Conqueror trophy. From 6 – 7 May, attention will turn to the King of the Hill competition, which will see 84 road-going cars and supercars, modified saloon cars and single-seater and sports racing cars charging up the 1.9km-long Simola Hill for their respective King of the Hill titles and the special ‘Jody’ trophies.