Spinning and drifting also a sport, say motorsport enthusiasts
Motorsport is fast gaining popularity in townships and drivers are calling for the sport to be recognised by government
In contrast to the youth of 1976 who were armed with stones and petrol bombs in their show of defiance to the apartheid government’s policy of using Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in township schools, today’s youth will be armed with a range of high performance cars like the famed BMW 325 IS, 318 I and the 325 I as they drift and do a number of stunts in the middle of Mphephetho Road.
The Johannesburg Motoring Council founder, Sakhumzi “Spirit” Mzantsi said this was an effort to make the authorities realise that there was a need for them to provide safer and more secure environments to discover young racing talent in Soweto.
Mzantsi said this would be the fourth edition of Mphephetho Drive Car Spinning.
He said they will be paying homage to the selfless struggle, sacrifice and the battle their forebears fought against the government of the day.
He believes that, like the youth of ’76, today’s youth also face similar struggles.
“We are financially excluded and our favourite sport (car spinning) is being suppressed because the authority don’t provide us with secure places like they did in previously white-only suburbs.
“We have tried several times to engage the government to help us improve the car spinning scene in townships. On June 16, we will be hosting the fourth edition of Mphephetho Car Spin Bash. It is appropriate to celebrate this day on the very streets where the actual battle against the apartheid machine took place,” said Mzantsi.
According to Mzantsi, only a few are able to showcased their spinning and drifting abilities at the Kyalami Sports Racing facility in the city.
He added that every time politicians are on the campaign trail in townships, they allow them to spin their cars in the streets, but after elections spin and drift enthusiasts are prohibited from practising in the very same streets.
Mzantsi said, “We will be showcasing our driving skills on the 4 km long Mphephetho Drive from 12 am until the following morning.
“We are looking forward to surpassing our previous record of hosting 5000 spectators. Local shop owners should open 24 hours on that day so that spectators are able to buy refreshments and drinks. The previous event saw car enthusiasts from all over the province and this time we want to beat that.”
He added that they were concerned about the stadiums in Soweto which are fast becoming white elephants, saying that he believed these could be converted to car spinning facilities which had the potential to generate a lot of revenue. At the moment, motoring fans they are not paying anything to watch the sport which is a great loss to the city and national government.
“Big names who will be showing off their skills behind the wheel include Spirit Team, Team Zola, DK Spinners, West Rand Beemers Club, S’khalo, Thuggish, Tebza 7 and Wothi-Malume,” said Mzantsi.
