Benoni racer eager to get back on track
Pieter van Staden, local racer and Benoni resident, believes we are still going to feel the impact of Covid-19 for a long time to come.
Pieter van Staden, local racer and Benoni resident, believes we are still going to feel the impact of Covid-19 for a long time to come.
“During the lockdown we had a lot of time to work on the cars which was great, but due to the crisis the entire world found itself in, I was very conservative with the financial negative affect that Covid-19 had on us,” he said.
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“I focused on making sure that we were stable rather then at risk.”
Van Staden said he is very excited to be getting back into racing, but the impact this pandemic has had on the sponsors and track owners has been astronomical.
“I think that for the first few races there will not be that many competitors, but for all of us with race fuel in our blood we will surely make it back to the tracks,” he explained.
“It is great to know we still have tracks to race on and that there will be races during level two, but obviously without spectators.
“My hat goes off to the promoters that are willing to host races without spectators because it is a big difference.
“Not all of us are involved full-time in the motor trade or racing, so for us, the racers who race just as a hobby go out to the track with a lot of love and passion for the sport.”
The first event to hit the track in South Africa since restrictions were lifted was on September 5 at the Rietkuil Raceway in Mpumalanga.
“It so great to be back, not only to see fellow competitors but also spending time with our racing family,” he said.
“We had to travel all the way to Arnot (town in Rietkuil) to race but it was great to see a promoter willing to host an event even without any spectators.
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“Although we had some mechanical issues on our first outing it was still overall a brilliant day, but I think now we will focus on getting the cars to be race ready for any day.
“We really hope that the local tracks will follow suit and open up the tracks again even though we won’t have spectators. I also hope that all the businesses out there do recover from this pandemic.
“Most importantly, we hope the livelihood of all employed people and unemployed people gets better and I hope for us to get sponsors on our cars again because without sponsors it’s just not possible to be racing.
“I would like to thank my sponsors, Imax Wireless and ZPCON Construction for their undying support during these trying times.”
