This past weekend Killarney hosted the Westbank Super Series and saw the guys from Brigdestone Production Cars, VW Polo Cup, V8 Supercars and Superbikes all take to the track. I have never been a fan of going to the track, but I had two reasons to be there on this occassion – I had to interview one of the drivers and was keen to support CAR’s Sudhir Matai, who has a race seat in the Polo Cup (read his race report here). It was unavoidable.
Before I’m accused of not having an interest in motorsport, let me explain. Crowds make me tense to the point of borderline panic. On top of that I don’t like heat, dust or noise. And for anyone who’s ever been to a racetrack, that’s basically what it’s all about. So driving into Killarney on Saturday, my spirits were low and my nerves were high. But it all turned out pretty well in the end…
I actually enjoyed my time at the track. I spent a lot of time in the pits. There are the race fans who just want to be near the cars and drivers. And there’s always someone working on a car, drivers getting ready to race and photographers and journalists trying to move around to snap some images of the activity. There’s a buzz about everything and it’s contagious. You can’t help but get caught up in it all.
And I got to see how seriously people take local racing. There are car clubs and companies who come out in full to support the event. All the available spaces for companies and clubs to book for the event are booked out in advance and unless you arrive really early in the morning, you’ll have difficulty finding parking inside the venue.
Another thing is that those who participate in local motor racing are a lot more serious about it than people realise. A lot of money goes into getting a car race-ready, having spare parts available and getting the car and driver to the venue.
And this buzz that I felt was even before some of the main races began. Local motor racing is really something that should be better supported in South Africa. There was once a time when even those who weren’t that in tune with the racing scene knew our drivers. It would be cool if we could get there again.
If you haven’t been to a national race day, give it a try at least once. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed my time at the track. There’s something for everyone – from bikes to cars to other sorts of eye candy. Below is a schedule of the upcoming races should you want to attend a race:
28 April – Scribante – Port Elizabeth
26 May – Kyalami – Johannesburg (tbc)
23 June – Street Race – Durban (tbc)
04 August – Phakisa – Welkom
25 August – Zwartkops – Pretoria
22 September – Killarney – Cape Town
27 October – Kyalami – Johannesburg (tbc)