I went to the Border 100 event in East London as a guest driver of Big Foot Express Racing. Technically I was a motor journalist on assignment to experience the Porsche GT3 Cup cars that the team imported from Europe and run on local soil, but the end result was really unexpected.
A newbie
I have only ever raced once before and that was in a 1,6-litre Citi Golf. It had a peak output of 74 kW (an even 100 bhp) and was a road-legal car – down to its treaded rubber – that was fitted with a roll cage.
By contrast, this Porsche was purpose-built to go racing. It has around 315 kW (420 bhp) delivered to its rear wheels via a sophisticated transmission, runs on Hankook slicks and has proper aerodynamic downforce. To suggest that there are a few differences between the two cars would be an understatement to say the least.
Seat time in the car was limited by inclement weather on the open practice day last Friday. A brief session of running on Saturday morning was all the dry time I managed to eke out before the lights went out for the day’s racing activities.
Waiting patiently
My more experienced team-mate and regular pilot of the No 43 Big Foot Racing Porsche was Preyen Moodley. He competed in the day’s two sprint races and in that time got his eye in for the day’s feature event, the Border 100 endurance race. This race dates back many decades and has always been a highlight on the Border Motorsport Club’s calendar.
As the day’s sprint races ended I could feel the tension mounting as my turn to drive drew ever closer. At roughly 4 pm the Border 100 (90 mins instead of the usual 100) kicked off.
The GT3 Porsches of Big Foot Racing quickly made a break from the rest of the field. Sun Moodley (car No. 11) was the early leader from “my” car, which was being driven by Preyen. As he was driving the full 90 mins by himself, Moodley Senior settled into a slightly less frenetic pace and before long before car 43 took the lead.
No pressure then
Moodley Jr was setting a blistering pace. He did not need to conserve any energy as he was going to exit the car at the half way point. After 45 minutes of pounding the track he came in for a mandatory pit stop and handed over the reins to me.
I knew that we had a comfortable lead but there was no way I could squander that with a slow pace and/or an on-track incident. The first five laps of my stint were the most nerve-wracking as I explored the limited grip offered up by the, now, very second-hand rubber and abused brake system.
I settled into a pace that I felt comfortable with and set about passing slower moving traffic – a myriad of backmarkers. During my stint the No 11 car suffered a puncture, essentially removing the one serious challenger to our lead.
Into the “zone”
I quickly entered “the zone” that you often hear race drivers speak of and before I realised it I saw the team signal from the pit wall that I was about to start the final lap. I could hardly believe it, 45 minutes of flat out driving disappeared in, what felt like, five blinks.
As I took the chequered flag I could hardly believe what had just happened. I did not want the race to end and I certainly did not want to slow down. Waved flags by all the marshalls signalled that I had to enter the pits.
As I stopped outside our team pits I was greeted by team manager Renaldo Peter signalling that we won the event. I was overwhelmed by the experience and the win. So much so, that it took a full fifteen minutes before I was prepared to leave the car, and only because the team mechanics were already preparing the car for transportation back to Durban.
This is an experience that I will NEVER forget. An experience made possible by the very gracious Sun Moodley and Big Foot Express Racing.
