Drag racing is what gets my motor running
I AM a 34-year-old married woman having a love affair with drag racing.
I started a business with my husband called KZN Drag Racing and we’ve been fortunate enough this year to organise two drag racing events at the only permanent drag racing strip in KwaZulu-Natal, the Dezzi Raceway.
Having grown up on a farm in Estcourt, riding Basuto ponies that could barely walk, I’ve come to love a different breed of horse power.
Like many new love affairs, I entered the relationship with some preconceived ideas. I thought drag racing only happened around Springfield Park late at night with drunken 20-somethings racing souped-up VW Polos.
I imagined Fast and Furiousstyle chases around the city that inevitably landed up in an accident that claimed innocent lives. How wrong I was.
With Gas Magazine cofounder Yashmeetha Ori educating me, I have learnt about V8 engines, nitros and launch controls. I have met many colourful characters and, most important, I have come to learn that to excel at drag racing requires talent and professionalism. My list of misconceptions was set straight.
First up was the idea that drag racing was unregulated and not a professional motorsport.
Did you know that you can achieve Springbok colours for drag racing and that Sascoc endorses Motorsport South Africa, who are the official regulators of the sport?
Drag racing events are technical to set up and very expensive to run. They require timing equipment to rival that used by traffic officers; professionally surveyed tracks; and experienced marshals to keep drivers and visitors safe.
Number two was my idea that drag racing was predominantly an Indian motor sport. While the Indian community fills KZN tracks with VW Golfs and Nissan Skyliners, it takes just one trip to Tarlton Raceway in Joburg to know that this statement is horribly false.
Afrikaners dominate the Gauteng scene and in the Cape many coloured people race. So it’s fair to say drag racing is a sport for the “rainbow nation”.
Number three was the idea that drag racing does not require as much talent to take part in as other motorsports like circuit racing.
All I thought you needed was a fast car, a flat straight and a need for speed. I’ve since learned that if turning a production Citi Golf into a 10second quarter-mile champion was something everyone could do, we’d have many more deaths on the road.
The truth is that drag racing is not only expensive and involves multi-million rand cars, but the people who tune them are some of the most talented mechanics in the country.
Finally, I’ve learned that not only do men drag race competitively, but many women do too. Just last weekend, at the #AllStarsWeekend which we organised, with Gas Magazine the media partner, we not only had female bike drag racers but also had a woman driving in the ReuTrans exhibition category, who clocked a time of 7.8 seconds in a Rail Dragster.
The speed she travelled was 298km/h. Women love speed too and they’re putting the men to the test.
One thing is for sure: KwaZulu-Natal people are passionate about drag racing. I love the fact that an 81-year-old from Waterfall, Reg Murray, can still compete and holds three national records.
I love the names people give their cars, from Pixi to Mad Dog, and I love the nicknames the drivers go by.
I love the fact that drag racing started on air strips with cows walking alongside and has matured into a nationally recognised sport.
I love the fans’ enthusiasm, even though it means waking up before the sun rises to rush to the track in Port Shepstone to close the gates before the public can get in, only to find some Richards Bay fans have already entered and are looking for their morning coffee.
Most of all, I love seeing the dichotomy of cars racing. Nothing quite gets the heart racing like witnessing a Datsun bakkie clock 250km/h or hearing the roar of “Eleanor” as she tears up the strip.