Some mense, when you ask how they’re doing, will tell you “min gespin”. But there are those rare few who will tell you “ek’s max gespin”. Then you know you’ve found a genuine petrolkop.
Spinning is arguably where it all started with the Cape scene; before drifting, before the big events, there was the pitch and the E30, or the Ford, and the legendary o uens met houding 5 who tore that pitch up.
Spinning is the art of throwing your cabbie around the pitch, with you mostly inside, performing all manner of antics while grinding the rubbers off those wheels in a haze of smoke and thunder, and keeping the spectators cheering.
Bobby Nitro spoke to Ivor Jacobs, chairman of West Coast Spinners, about Spinfest, a meeting they held at the Saldanha Bay Sport Field last weekend in association with BoostSA’s Smoking Barrels.
Ivor says: “We had a great day. The organisation went well, we had a big crowd of 500-plus spectators. As a guest, we invi- ted Lionel Jordaan, aka Ta Loeks, to entertain with his BMW E30.”
As you might already know, spinners have been battling for many years for legal recognition in the motorsport world, and for a dedicated and safe pitch to call their own.
Perhaps times are a changin'.
Ivor says: “We are now members of the West Coast Motorsport Federation and are in the process of organising a dedicated spinning pitch in the Vredenburg area, just outside of Saldanha.”
That’s big news. Club secretary Jade Jacobs says: “We have no time frame yet, though. There’s a lot of work to do while we look for sponsors and investors. Hopefully we can open by the end of the year.”
Bobby will keep an eye on developments and you’ll be the first to know.
Jade says: “On the day, the energy was high, the crowd appreciation great and they really enjoyed themselves. People came from all over, the Cape, Durban and even Joburg.”