
10 Years of Simola
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Understanding, Hopefully
Ten years in, the approach is different. The Widebody is built.The Bedford RaceVan is built.The system exists. That doesn’t guarantee anything. It just reduces the unknowns. For the first time, the focus is not on making it work.It’s on arriving … Read more
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Ambition Over Reality
The Widebody represented the next step. Bigger, faster, more serious. It didn’t start. A misaligned clutch, among other issues, meant the car never ran. The Stepnose became a fallback, which only highlighted the gap between ambition and execution. 2025 followed … Read more
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Progress, Accidentally
The decision to road-trip to Simola seemed aligned with the spirit of the event. In reality, it exposed another layer of unpreparedness. 250km took most of the day. The wrong fuel pump had been fitted, leading to constant stops and … Read more
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Preparation, Finally
This was the year everything was supposed to come together. And then it didn’t. Broken pistons on the dyno days before the event. A situation that would have ended previous years. Instead, the system absorbed it. Rebuilt. Reassembled. Sent. The … Read more
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Intent without Execution
The Stepnose finally made its debut. This was supposed to be the shift. A purpose-built car, built with intent, replacing the compromised daily driver approach. Seven days before the event, it still needed a proper shakedown. That alone says everything. … Read more
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Nothing to See Here
Simola didn’t happen. For once, there was an external reason. A global pause that removed the deadline, the pressure, the expectation. It should have created space to catch up. It didn’t. The same problems remained. The same unfinished work carried … Read more
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Repetition without Resolution
By now, the pattern was established. Enter.Find a problem.Fix it.Repeat. The car was still the same. The issues were still familiar. The understanding was improving, but not fast enough to break the cycle. This was the final year with the … Read more
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Determination without Sleep
This was the year I decided to be sensible. The car had issues. The oil problem hadn’t been resolved. I collected it late, drove home, and made the adult decision to withdraw. That lasted a few hours. Watching the rest … Read more
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Commitment without a plan
The Stepnose wasn’t planned. It happened. One Sunday morning, someone stopped to admire the car. Conversation led to mention of two Stepnoses in poor condition. Numbers were exchanged with no real expectation. Two days later, I was loading them up … Read more
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[autodidact] “self taught”
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Backdraft Racing Cobra
Epic morning spent at Backdraft Racing South Africa, picking their brains about various options for my next project. What I love most about real car guys, their passion has no boundaries. Any reason to spend an entire morning talking cars … Read more
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#AlterEgoBuildOff2025
ALTER EGO BUILD-OFF AT THE 2025 KILLARNEY MOTOR SHOWThe Killarney Motor Show 2025 and AlterEgo Casual Wear are proud to introduce the Annual AlterEgo Build-Off, a celebration of South African craftsmanship in both cars and motorcycles.Petrolheads express themselves in their … Read more
REPEAT [blog]
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Understanding, Hopefully
Ten years in, the approach is different. The Widebody is built.The Bedford RaceVan is built.The system exists. That doesn’t guarantee anything. It just reduces the unknowns. For the first time, the focus is not on making it work.It’s on arriving … Read more
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Ambition Over Reality
The Widebody represented the next step. Bigger, faster, more serious. It didn’t start. A misaligned clutch, among other issues, meant the car never ran. The Stepnose became a fallback, which only highlighted the gap between ambition and execution. 2025 followed … Read more
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Progress, Accidentally
The decision to road-trip to Simola seemed aligned with the spirit of the event. In reality, it exposed another layer of unpreparedness. 250km took most of the day. The wrong fuel pump had been fitted, leading to constant stops and … Read more
