Light the Fire was a ‘smoking hot’ festival!

IT was a weekend of amazing stunts, spectacular motorbikes and cars at the second annual Light the Fire biking lifestyle event at the Dezzi South Coast Raceway. Sponsored by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, in association with Nkosi N Projects and Integrated Concepts, the event brought biking clubs and motor enthusiasts from all corners of the country to the South Coast.

Event organiser, Sinethemba Dhlomo, of Integrated Concepts, said that although the weather didn’t pay ball on the opening day, conditions improved on the Sunday. “Unfortunately, we could not control the weather and it did prove somewhat challenging for both performers and spectators on Saturday But the high calibre of bikers and drivers meant that the stunts were just that much more extreme,” she said. “However, the glorious weather on Sunday saw families coming out to enjoy some of the amazing shows.”

She said one of the highlights was the ‘car vs bike’ time trials where top-of-the-line cars and motorbikes battled it out.

First place was taken by the Yamaha R1, ridden by Steve van der Merwe in a time of 1:48:03. A second Yamaha R1 followed with the Porsche 911 GT3 RS in third. Fourth place went to the Backdraft Racing Cobra, fifth to the 450 Motard and sixth to the Ferrari 458.

Spectators were also captivated by the death-defying stunts performed by 10 times Supermoto Champion and South Africa’s most diverse biker, Brian Capper. Some of his stunts included ramping over brave audience volunteers and gravity-defying flips and turns in mid-air.

Another South African biking legend, Alfred ‘King Donut’ Matamela, Yamaha Ambassador and owner of the Soweto Motorbike School, kept the crowds well entertained with his doughnut stunts while the renowned ‘Biker Queen,’ Seipei Mashugane, met with fans and interviewed the performers.

The two-day motoring extravaganza also had a number of exhibitions by custom bikes and cars, drifting and advanced riding demonstrations as well as live music. Sunday’s highlight was the mass charity ride to Gamalakhe sports grounds to hand over a cheque of R23 600 to the Gamalakhe Community Development Foundation which assists the local community with uniforms, schools shoes, tertiary fees, career training and business opportunities.

“We will continue to keep up our good relationship with Gamalakhe Foundation so we can continue to see where we can help,” explained Sinethemba Dhlomo.

“We really look forward to hosting this event again next year because it provides a great opportunity for biking enthusiasts to get together in a fun, family environment in one of the country’s most scenic race venues.”

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