You simply can’t keep the petrolkoppe down when it comes to community initiatives and good wholesome fun.
Last weekend saw a bunch of well-known names on the scene converge on the Century City Karting track for a day of racing.
The day saw car enthusiasts, with the likes of seasoned rally drivers, drag racers, spinners and drifters, all in the thick of things, all racing for a good cause.
Bobby Nitro spoke to Rayyan Abrahams, 32, of Kenwyn, who was part of the organising group. He says: “My job was to get the drivers in, and get the event hyped up, as I’ve been in motorsport doing MSA drags for some time now and have met some amazing people along the way.”
The event was organised under the banner of the Emerging Sounds Foundation, which provides support for upcoming and struggling local musicians, and was geared at raising charity.
A primary funnel for the funds raised is the G-CAP Foundation, represented by motorsport and DJ icon Ready D, an NGO initially formed for youth development in road safety and that is currently focusing on feeding initiatives.
Ready D says: “We’re staying proactive, and with the unemployment that has increased through the lockdown, the community has been hugely impacted.
“There are some communities that have been sidelined and we are filling the gaps as best we can.”
Ready D, who is accustomed to wearing different hats, was deck grandmaster on the day.
He says: “To be honest, it was distracting holding a set together while wanting to be behind the wheel at the same time. But I had a great time and look forward to another event now that the waters have been tested.”
The day started off with Covid-19 regulations: proper screening, distancing and sanitising was adhered to strictly.
Now koppe know how to take a fun day and add some turbo. One of the racers and MC at the karting, motorsport media personality Shahiem Bell, tells of the hype and how he was in a call-out with Jason James.
Shahiem says: “Unfortunately for me he was a bit quicker around the circuit and took me out in a semi-final, but I still came out the better looking driver!”
Jason says: “The day was fun, and I was just happy to beat Shahiem.”
Rayyan speaks about the fact that he hasn’t been behind the wheel of a kart for years, and that the running joke on the day was the ‘married weight’ that the guys were now bringing to the game.
He says: “My intention was to have fun and I was quite fast even with the added weight, they couldn’t pass me until my friends turned the race into a bit of a bumper car scenario.”
Racer Gerhard le Breton says: “The competition was extremely tight, not forgetting the cause behind it. We as a community need to give back more, especially now in these trying times.”
Another cool part was the live stream crew, CK Concepts, who made the event viewable to the public who purchased tickets via Quicket.
Shahiem adds: “It was super exciting to compete myself, but the ultimate was knowing that our contributions were going to the awesome cause of raising funds for the 1000 food parcels to be distributed by the G-CAP foundation.
Rayyan says they are planning another event, not bigger in terms of numbers, but hopefully with bigger prizes that can be donated to the charity cause, which “is the main objective”.
Look out on social media for the hype surrounding the next event.
dailyvoice@inl.co.za