SADC car spinners set to thrill
Motor Sport fanatics are embracing themselves for a spectacular weekend as one of the local clubs, Spin Masters, are set to deliver the SADC Burn Out Fiesta at KC12 Mmamashia ground tomorrow.
The event is a national championship which will also be open to international competition to thrill revelers.
Arrivals of spinners from the SADC region have been flogging the country since Wednesday and the event organizer, Thuso Mudongo from Spin Masters said, following the return to normalcy post lockdowns, they are excited to once again be able to engage in high level competition.
He however noted that it has not been easy to prepare for the event as there has been a lot of obstacles.
“I can’t say it has been easy to prepare for this event, because the logistics have been difficult. We had a change of venue and the new ground needed approval from the Botswana Motor Sport ( BMS), their safety officer assessed the compliance and safety measures of the ground including its dimensions. Also the arrangements to have international participants coming into Botswana has not been easy because of the current COVID- 19 compliance rules,” Mudongo shared.
Mudongo noted that it was also difficult to source sponsors as most companies are still recovering from the economic downturn as a result of the corona virus pandemic.
He however appreciated a few companies who came on board to be partners for the event, amongst them, Dunlop Zone, The Tyre Shop; who provided tyres and DC Lounge who provided accommodation for visiting athletes.
Mudongo highlighted that car spinning is a huge crowd puller and has the potential to boost the country’s tourism sector.
“With events such as this, we believe this will be a breakthrough moment to expose even more Batswana to the sport of Motorsport. Not only that, we will greatly appreciate if Botswana Tourism Organization would embrace our efforts as much as they embrace other local sports events. This sport attracts a lot of international interest and that means the local companies stand to benefit from these visitors. Locals will set up stalls and sell their items and that means their businesses will greatly benefit. Most service providers are locals and that goes to show just how much the sport can boost various local business,” he said.
Back in 2017, for the first time ever, the people of Maun experienced the beauty of spinning in their own ground at the Maun Stadium parking space during Easter holidays, an event that local Motorsport officials deemed a huge success more especially in relation to showcasing one of the country’s tourist destination areas.
Mudongo further highlighted that, contrary to popular concern that car spinning is a dangerous sport, there has never been a report of any casuality or bad injuries sustained during their event.
He added that their cars have been modified to respond and perform high level safety measures, and that the spinners are well trained to perform in the sport. “Our engineering expects have been improving and learning over the years, when we started spinning, we used normal computer boxes, now we use engine managements which enhance a lot of power; we used normal petrol at the beginning but now we use additives as a result of the modifications to our cars. It’s a growing sport and we are close to arriving where we want,” Mudongo responded when quizzed on how the sport has impacted the engineering industry locally.
Several local spinners amongst them, Saatane, Dobenas, BosLady and Rratoropo will be on hand to showcase their skills and the Minister of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture, Honorable Tumiso Rakgare is expected to grace the event.