Two of South Africa’s most recognisable motorsports personalities ,Xolile Letlaka and Batshobonke (Tschops) Sipuka, each received a Minister’s Excellence in Sport Award at the 15th Annual Sports Awards, held on Saturday the 12th of March.
Presented by Mr Nathi Mthethwa, the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, the two racing legends received their award following their nomination by Adrian Scholtz, CEO of Motorsport South Africa. Letlaka continues to grow in stature within motorsport, and teamed with veteran racer Tschops Sipuka, became the first all-Black crew to win a round of the South African Endurance Series last year, not only once, but twice.
The duo took overall honours at both rounds held at the East London Grand Prix Circuit in May and October 2021 in their Into Africa Mining Lamborghini Huracan GT3, earning themselves third place in the final SAES championship standings having raced against 103 other competitors which include some of the biggest names in motorsport.
Xolile Letlaka said, “This award is a victory for motorsport and a victory for change in motorsport. It confirms that when we work together we can achieve great things.”
I’ve been doing my bit and rose to the top and won a few races. Motorsport has given me a platform to advocate unity and diversity across all spheres of the sport as well as showcase the young talent we have in South Africa”.
Tschops Sipuka said, “It’s a great honour to be recognised for my achievement in motorsport. When I started out, all I wanted was to consistently do the best I could. The Excellence in Sport Award creates a range of emotions when I think back to where I started. Most of all though, I hope my award inspires the next generation of young racers to persevere and show resilience.”
“Xolile and Tschops made local motorsport history last year by becoming the first all-Black driver pairing to win an endurance race held in South Africa. Just to underline this achievement, they then went on to win another race before the year was out. MSA extends its congratulations to Xolile and Tschops, both for their on-track achievements and their award from the Minister.” added Adrian Scholtz.
Set to compete in both the SA GT National Championship as well as the SAE, Xolile and Tschops have a busy year ahead. Their goal is to become the first team of colour to win the South African Endurance Championship. Next up on their itinerary is the opening round of both the SA GT National Championship and the South African Endurance Championship, taking place at Red Star Raceway on the 2nd of April
