Last weekend saw the petrolkoppe descend on Killarney once more for the next edition in the Street Mania series.
Bringing Drift, Spin and Drags to the raceway for one kwaai evening of high-revving goodness, usually this event sees the gauntlet thrown down in some way or another.
This month, the Spin teams of Cape Town and Atlantis brought out their big guns for another round of the local rivalry.
There was drama at the outset, with a number of Atlantis drivers missing the competition deadline for call-outs, which must have raised the competition temperature somewhat and gave Cape Town a four-car headstart.
The layout was similar to last year’s Bragging Rights, meaning the 22 entered drivers had an idea of what was in store.
In the juniors, Abdul Aleem took on Muhammad Uzayr Rajah but due to an unfortunate mechanical failure on Abdul’s car, he had to drop out giving Muhammad had an easy road to winning the cup.
Things really steam up when one team comes into the fray thinking they have the edge. It’s recipe for disaster, as that confidence can lead to slowness, while the other team, outnumbered and outgunned, might just reach down deep and stage a dramatic sport comeback.
That is precisely what went down. The pro spinners of Cape Town likely felt they had this competition in the bag, but then the drama started. Three of the Cape Town cars dropped out with mechanical failure. Suddenly the score was neck on neck, with Atlantis squeezing by to win seven to six.
The cheers of jubilation rung through the cold night when captain Chezlin Weir came up to seize the trophy for the second time in a row. Team Cape Town captain Riedewaan Oliver was not happy as you can imagine, thinking the win was a sure thing only to be pipped at the post.
After throwing this golden opportunity away, the question is: are Cape Town spinners willing and able to make a comeback? Atlantis owns the spinning world right now, having won twice in a row. Riedewaan says: “There will be a next time around and Cape Town will make a return, but for this event, I have no comment.”
Chezlin adds: “We were outnumbered, eight to 13, but we still pushed through with good drives. I didn’t think we would make it with the losses along the way, but the determination of the Atlantis drivers won the day.”
Drifting saw Fury D strut his stuff in his S13 on the oval, while Gianni Crowster and Yaseen Damon had some great fun. Raziek Rajah had some side shaft issues, but that’s when adding more power results in showing a vehicle’s weak spots.
Next up we have a longtime feud to be settled between Shane Green and Bronny White, come the next Street Mania on June 2.
Nazeer Loonat, who runs the drag strip on the night, says: “We had a record 82 entries, there was good racing, a great variety of cars and plenty fun to be had.”
The Joburg guys brought some hot metal, with a Lexus twin turbo V8 and Wessel with his gevaarlike boxie surprising the crowds. With an 11-second cut-off, meaning no cars faster than that, drivers of the more powerful vehicles run mild boost and have a good time.