When it comes to reducing illegal racing on our streets, the effort asks that it be a sustained one. One message does not do the trick. What does work is a message repeated over and over, plus an alternative to the streets.
That’s why, when Bobby Nitro saw that Street Mania had a date at Killarney International Raceway, he breathed a sigh of relief and felt a sense of excitement.
The Street Mania initiative is powered by the City of Cape Town and managed by three series, namely Spin Outlaws, Drift Outlaws and RaceSA.
Continuing with the concept of getting the racers off the public roads, attendance at the event proved that this is a hit both with punters and drivers.
Sportcom Chairman for Drifting at the WPMC, Raziek Rajah says: “The idea of the event is not to attract the seasoned racer, but to attract the average person that wants to burn rubber and enjoy fast speeds in a controlled environment.
“While on the drifting and spinning side, we have seasoned race drivers, we have an open slot for novices that want to do some donuts and try out the Spin Outlaw’s layout for 2022.
“The appeal of illegal racing is something we need to make a conscious decision on for ourselves.
“As a former illegal racer, I am trying my best to offer others a better alternative.”
The Spin pitch, managed by WPMC Chair of Spin Renzo Quickfall, saw the likes of Eddie Rasta and Laeeq Newman and other big names making the most of the Spin Outlaws’ practice session in preparation for the upcoming qualifying for the regionals on February 18.
This will be the first of six events planned for the 2022 racing calendar.
Nazeer Loonat of RaceSA manages the drag strip entrants.
The racing is timed to make it more exciting, but cars faster than 11.5 seconds are not allowed to join the night event.
This is both for safety and the fact that the event is directed at everyday drivers who want to race but not on the streets.
Altogether, 145 racers tested their mettle over the quarter mile.
Seasoned race drivers have their events and their slots at Killarney and generally don’t partake in the illegal events as they get their dose of adrenalin at the MSA drag racing meets.
Nazeer said that Bragging Rights in November last year, saw the return of spectators.
He says: “With the record attendance, we can look forward to a great year of racing.
“We all love racing and Street Mania is your solution if you have the racing bug on a Friday night.”
The event was attended by JP Smith and the City’s head of events Leonora de Souza.
They were very satisfied to see the attendance as the event was at maximum allowed capacity as per the Covid-19 regulations.
Street Mania provides the alternative that many have been asking after for years.
The City has approved and helped fund this initiative as it forms part of their safety and security directive.
While there is still a lot of work to do, many are realising that illegal racing comes with a whole host of risks, that are certainly not worth the few seconds of fun.