The long-awaited Race Wars between South Africa and Namibia drew a bumper crowd that exceeded all expectations as competitors let loose at the Tony Rust Race Track outside Windhoek recently.
Drag racing is a highly popular global platform for speed junkies.
Because the battle between two vehicles or motorbikes over a quarter-mile (0.4km) is won by fractions of a second, racers arrived well prepared.
Some of the drivers say they easily clock up to 240km/h over this distance.
Bradley Ferreira of Big Boy Racing says he never anticipated an event of such magnitude. With 65 car and motorcycle entries, the turnout was exceptional.
Ferreira says local drivers had been keeping their cars parked, waiting specifically for the South African competitors to arrive.
“I’m overwhelmed by what I’m seeing here today. I’ve never seen this many people around this track,” he said at the event.
“This goes to show what this kind of cross-border show brings. The vibe is just electric.”
Ferreira commended the officials and marshals for keeping the event on track, and acknowledged the roles played by the Namibia Revenue Agency, the Namibia Motorsport Federation, and the Namibia Sports Commission in facilitating the cross-border event.
Sponsors included Monster Energy, Cema Racing, Motul, and Wheel Quip.
Asked if Big Boy Racing is planning a follow-up, Ferreira said: “It’s not going to start tomorrow, but it’s going to happen some time.”
Preparing a drag strip requires precision. Timing is done electronically, and the starting line is treated with a special compound called ‘track bite’ to improve traction.
The competitors were full of praise for Namibian hospitality.
“The races were competitive and Namibians have fast cars,” South African racer Leo Pretorius said at the event.
Spectator CJ Kotze, whose father Jaco used to drag race, described the atmosphere as “amazing”, adding: “This is what the revival of motorsport looks like.”
Gabriel Newaka, driving a crowd-favourite Audi RS7, said the vehicle’s all-wheel-drive system gave it a massive advantage on the quarter-mile.
Robert Mertens, who kept the crowd on their feet in a BMW M8, said: “With some small modifications, the car did the job and we clocked some good times.”
Fabian Martens of Osh-Med International confirmed that emergency medics attended to zero track incidents during the event.
The only mishap occurred after the races, when a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle outside the venue.
Race Results
Cars
Leo Pretorius – Audi TT (10.49 seconds)
‘Sleeper’ – Golf MK1 (10.89 seconds)
Gabriel Newaka – Audi RS7 (11.65 seconds)
Motorbikes
Lucian Martin – Suzuki GSX 1000R (9.85 seconds)
Tomas David – BMW 1000RR (10.79 seconds)
Don Dyson – Honda CBR 1000 (10.52 seconds)
