‘Legalise, facilitate and regulate it’
MODIFYING cars has turned into a lifestyle in Durban.
And when you have forked out tens of thousands of rands souping up what might already be a highperformance car, for some there comes the need to show all it can offer – even if it means illegal street racing.
“Street racing is not going to stop any time soon and if it does here, it’s just going to start somewhere else” enthusiast Daegan Govender said.
The uMhlanga resident said street racing was “part of Durban’s culture”.
Govender owns a Golf 7 GTi for which he paid R480 000 and spent a further R15 000 on modifications, like new rims and springs. “By the end of this year I plan to put in air suspension,” he said.
“Everything I do involves cars. When other people look at my car and compliment me, the feeling is amazing.”
Truvin Singh, 27, from Waterfall, has been an enthusiast since the age of 16. “I’ve always had a passion for modifying cars, making them look good and working on their performance,” he said.
Singh owns a Jetta Mark 3 and has fitted a new engine, exhaust, a turbo and, to draw attention, new rims and speakers. “I spent around R37 000 doing all the modifications to get it how I want it.”
Shabeer Mohedin from Max Motor Sport said customers spent a lot to make their cars look good.
“A lot of people come in, mostly students, and ask for newer sound, underglow lights and cone filters,” he said.
He said the age groups, depending on the adaptations of the car, ranged from 19 to 40 plus and the most popular brand was VW, specifically the Polo.
Rino Divano, owner of Fast Car Performance, believes illegal street racing only takes place because there is no legal platform for enthusiasts.
“We can build multimillionrand soccer and rugby stadiums but there’s nothing for the local car enthusiast, apart from Port Shepstone (Dezzi raceway) and in Mtubatuba there’s nothing,” he said. “We need a permanent racetrack in Durban.”
Divano, who has been in the business for 28 years, said most of his customers were roughly 25 to 30 years old and spent an average of R15 000 on modifying their cars.
“The passion is driven by the media, which generally feature performance cars rather than small, cheap cars. A car magazine won’t feature a 1.3 Toyota Yaris the way they would the latest Mercedes Benz, so the poor guy tries to make his car better with performance parts,” he said.
Divano said the most popular car for modification was the Golf GTI, with Indians being the biggest market.
“A car is an extension of one’s personality. A young vibrant individual will want to make their car that way.”
The DA’s spokesperson on transport, Rafeek Shah, believes the best way to control illegal street racing is to create a platform for people who want to race.
“If you do not provide a legitimate facility, those who want to drag race will do it anyway,” he said.
“We call for the municipality to find a facility. This will benefit the city as it will call a huge crowd base, create jobs and stimulate the economy. We are saying legitimise it, facilitate it and regulate it. It will be a big success for the city and bring in economic growth.”
Last week Deputy Mayor Fawzia Peer, who chairs the eThekwini Municipality’s security and disaster management unit, told POST she was concerned about reports of ongoing illegal racing.
This stemmed from the beating of Chatsworth man Kuban Pather, who had inadvertently found himself in the middle of a drag race after jumping a red traffic light.
Peer condemned the “barbaric behaviour” of those who assaulted Pather.
But she said motor sport was popular among enthusiasts and had the potential to draw tourists to the city. See also page 16