Octogenarian to light-up 4x4 Mud Festival
IN motor-sport, a code that rewards mental fortitude and absolute speed, octogenarian athletes are not completely unheard of.
And Zimbabwe has its own local hero — Mike Gill — who will be part of the show during this Saturday’s CarGuard 4x4 Mud Festival at Donnybrook Park Raceway in Harare.
His participation in what promises to be a fun-filled day was announced yesterday by Carol Weare, the 4x4 Club secretary who will be Clerk of the Course for this exciting event.
“One of our honorary members and our most enthusiastic octogenarian, Mike Gill, who is 86, will be entering again this year in ‘STUBBY’, a Nissan short wheel base with front and back diff locks, specially modified crawler gears and raised suspension, and a 4,2 litre turbo diesel engine,” Weare said.
She said Gill has been involved in local motor-sport for over 30 years.
He was an off-road motorcyclist for about 20 years before that.
And Gill will be out to show that age is no barrier as he takes part in this tough 4x4 Mud Festival event at Donnybrook.
In fact, the octogenarian is a highly inspiring role model. At the age of 86, he still takes his car to Donnybrook for both practice and competition against the younger generation, which includes veteran driver George Chitepo, who will be entering again in the long wheel base class in his Isuzu sixth generation.
Gill is usually joined at all the races at Donnybrook by his wife Pat.
“Michael and Pat Gill are honorary members of our club. They met in 1957 at the first meeting of the (then) Salisbury Vespa Club.
“They were married in 1961 and together, have been involved in motor-sport ever since. They have been and still are an inspiration to the sport and to the 4x4 Club, with their dedication, work and input over the years.
“Michael is a particular petrol head and if it has wheels and a motor then it is in. He has rebuilt Vintage Cars and is an avid Land Rover lover and at 86 years of age he is still competing in our 4x4 club events.
This year’s 4x4 Mud Fest is oversubscribed, gauging from the number of entries the organisers have received so far and among them is that of veteran motorsport driver George Chitepo.
Chitepo, a former motor rally and main circuit racing driver who will be turning 55 this year, is looking forward to this Saturday’s event.
“I have been a member of the 4x4 Club since 2018 and I have participated in last year’s 4x4 Jamboree long wheel base… I also participated in 2022 and 2023 mud run. It’s a great event and we used to do it with a few spectators all along but for this year, the 4x4 Club want more spectators and I’m urging all the local motorsport enthusiasts to make their way to Donnybrook on Saturday to enjoy this event,” Chitepo said.
A local motor-sport enthusiast,Robbie Louwe, will also be making his way to Donnybrook on Saturday to light up this year’s event
Louwe will be entering a “Bugly”, his newly-acquired Comp Car and will be putting his driving skills to the test for the first time on Saturday.
There’s also Trevor Butler, who will be entering his Swamp Donkey with his brother Wayne.
This festival will be filled with lots of excitement and muddy adventures.
It is likely to include 15 obstacles (canes) over 8km. Each obstacle will be filled with mud and water. A skid pan filled with mud will be available for the wild at heart to test their driving skills.
“We will have courses set with canes as markers. Competitors have to drive through sets of canes.
“There are points for each cane that is touched or knocked over. The idea is to complete the course without attaining points.
“There will also be the mud (run) which is timed from start to finish. Fastest time wins,’’ Weare said.
Action starts at 10:30am and entry fee for spectators has been pegged at US$5 per person while kids under the age of 12 will get in for free. Catering will be available and cooler boxes will be allowed.
“Come along and see how well the 4X4’ handle the mud run, mud or lose of traction. However, we’d recommend 4x4 vehicles for the course and obstacles,” Weare said.