There were thrills, spills and high drama at Killarney this past weekend with the three-in-one blockbuster called Bragging Rights.
We’re talking the fastest dragsters on two and four wheels, plus top drifters, plus the country’s top spinners, all in one humdinger of a day.
The long-awaited event was presented by the Western Province Motor Club, Race SA, GHC Drift Outlaws and Spin Outlaws, VP Racing Fuels, Gas Magazine and the City of Cape Town at Killarney on Saturday past.
Starting off with the high drama bit, biker Lenzey Henry lost control of his Suzuki GSX-R1000, hitting the tar at over 240km/h while his bike catapulted into the air. He was not badly hurt, other than some bruising. This is exactly why clever petrolkoppe only ever do this kind of speed at the track, in relative safety.
Then Ralph Kumbier, pushing hard with a stiff southeaster behind him on the quarter mile in his Pro Mod Camaro, ploughed into the safety net at the end of the run. He did take best of class with a new personal best of 8.27 seconds.
Newly-elected Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis got an adrenalin-spiking induction into the world of Cape motorsport, starting with a smoke-filled drift around the oval in Juan Stemmet’s supercharged Ford 302 Boss-powered car. Apparently he then understood why the sport is so addictive.
After a civilised recovery period, our new mayor got a hair-raising run down the quarter-mile in RaceSA’s Porsche then, if that weren’t enough, in Renzo Torrente’s blisteringly fast BMW M3.
That should about do it, let’s hope our new mayor is now a die-hard fan.
Drifting and spinning, he said, were among the fastest-growing sports in the Western Cape and events such as Bragging Rights boosted Cape Town’s hospitality industry, helped created jobs and promoted social cohesion – bringing people together in pursuit of a common passion.
Out on the oval, it was veteran drifter Juan who took top honours, winning the coveted white cape of National Drift King. No big surprise there, as Juan has a reputation for consistent performance.
On the spin pitch there was high amperage as the first ever national MSA Spin event rolled out. Called Spin Outlaws, the pressure was on the course, a mix of time and obstacles, and it was Sunesh ‘Sushi’ Pursad from Benoni in his BMW 325 who took the title after a closely fought final. Second place was Chadwin Hadjie aka Boksie.
National co-ordinator Renzo Quickfall said that no driver found the track layout easy, but all want to come back to chase down that coveted title.
On the quarter-mile, Hermann Mostert piloted his 2jz-powered Nissan Champ bakkie to an 8-second pass at 271.3km/h, being the only entry in the Exhibition Class for cars with the capability of breaking into the sevens.
Ralph Kumbier took the 8.5 second or less class in his Camaro, while Cobus van Wyk from Joburg set a new course record for open motorcycles with an 8.5 second pass on his BMW S1000RR. Local hero Talha Daniels won Class O with an 8.7 pass in his UK-built Mk1 Ford Escort with an Australian Ford Barramundi straight-six engine.
Quote of the day, however, comes from Mayco member for Safety and Security JP Smith, an ardent motorsport fan, who said just before the First Citizen jumped into a car: “Now let’s see if we can make the mayor’s teeth chatter!”
But the real winners on the day were the fans, cheering and heckling the competitors as only Kaapse koppe can, thrilled to be back at Killarney to see a top-level event for the first time in almost two years.