By Jehran Naidoo for Auto Rush
The sport of drag racing in KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa in general has always been a controversial. Mainly because of its rebellious roots forming on ‘the streets’.
Make no mistake, the thrill of watching your favourite car go full tilt against is still as captivating as the first time you first saw it.
There has, however, been a few developments over the years that pushed the sport into another direction. Some would argue a more boring direction.
Through the need of regulation and safety, the sport took a more structured turn. This naturally put racers into classes, which eventually led to a bunch of people racing themselves.
From the outside, it looked boring as heck. Furthermore, the entire concept of class racing defeats the purpose of a drag race. You may as well just have solo runs all day.
The average joe today would not know that the two cars he’s watching on the line are not actually racing, but just there to ‘set a time’.
A drag race, in my opinion, is about two people wanting to prove who is faster. Or maybe its two people wanting to place a wager on their cars. Or two people wanting to settle an argument.
A drag race is a duel, and the cars are weapons. And those triggers need to be pulled by someone! Fastest gun wins. Plain and simple.
Modern drag racing is quite the opposite, with most people racing “their own personal best”.
That is admirable and everything, but modern drag racing has also been known to put babies to sleep because its so fucking boring.
Dawn of a new day?
Noticing a thirst for something more entertaining, South African drag administrator Harry Naidoo decided to bring back the old days.
Since announcing the full prep event at Dezzi this Saturday, March 1, the country’s drag racing community has been abuzz with talk of call-outs and the resurfacing of some old rivalries.
Front wheel drive cars, primarily, populate the domestic drag scene, with the VW Golf 1 a common weapon of choice.
But there are others among them, like Jacques van Rensburg, who have gone against the grain and found success in an Opel Corsa.
The call outs
Jacques will now go against the pride and joy of Joburg’s east side, Lance Pillay of ERF Racing.
Lance’s 16v turbo 2-door Golf 1 was seen on the dyno this week spitting flames. Many can only speculating what he’s bringing to the party.
Pillay will have to bring his A-game to Dezzi if he’s to put the Kraaifontein Killer to rest.
Jacques has a personal best of 9.6s in the Corsa at Dezzi while Lance ran a PB of 9.9s.
Another ear-thrilling battling has been ensuing in the world of R32 swapped Golf 1’s.
Ever since the introduction of the fastest R32 Golf 1 list by Auto Rush earlier this month, tension has been brewing regarding who’s moving up or down.
Kishore Baichu is also making a return to the track in his Datsun 1400 bakkie and will go up against Gunther Bronkhorst from the 011 society.
Drew Ramsamy and Desgian Naidoo are going head to head with their 16v turbo Golf 1’s. Yaseera Ebrahim in her RS3 is also calling out Karen in her Nissan R35 GTR for some AWD action.
Dezzi is expected to be a true spectacle this weekend. Fingers will be crossed around the country, hoping the weather holds up for Saturday’s event.
The future looks good
Call-outs aside, the sport has also appears to have taken a turn for the better, especially with the level of communication between provinces. There’s an air of positivity to the scene which was much needed.
One can only hope it will lead to more events to the magnitude of Saturday’s event.
Harry Naidoo has also been vocal with Auto Rush about his plans to develop the sport in KwaZulu-Natal and hopefully, the rest of South Africa.
