Nel shifts gears on international tracks

Windhoeker Adriaan Nel (25) is making strides internationally after progressing from go-karting to competing in South Africa’s Motorsport South Africa Formula 4 (MSA F4) series.

He started his racing career at the age of nine, and took his first national title in 2011.

Starting off with go-karting, with several titles behind his name it was time to go bigger, Nel says.

Although he participated in national circuit racing several times on the Tony Rust Racetrack outside Windhoek, he says he pinned his hopes on the international arena.

Nel spoke to Top Revs after returning from South Africa where he raced in the MSA F4 competition.

The MSA F4 Series is a globally recognised entry-level single-seater racing category designed to bridge the gap between go-karting and higher-level formula racing series, like the Formula 3.

This category was created in March 2013.

Racing on the prestigious Kyalami Grand Prix circuit racing tracks in Midrand, Gauteng, is the dream of many an aspiring racer.

“You don’t get an opportunity like this every day, so I tried to grab it with both hands and do the best I can,” Nel says.

Though this class is a costly sport, Nel was fortunate to get a start-up under the auspices of a friend and mentor on board.

Team manager and owner of the race car Peter Jackuet saw potential in Nel.

Though these cars are not the real Grand Prix league, they are very potent and drivers need to be physical fit as they can reach a speed of 220km/h.

Additionally, the Kyalami track requires some serious skill and preparation.

Nel says he did a few laps on the ‘sim’ racing programme to get used to the track.

“First time driving the track he [Jackuet] was very impressed, and a lot of other people were like ‘where does this Namibian come from?’”

He believes Namibia has a lot of racing talent that needs to be developed.

One of his dreams is to take a Namibian through the paces and invest in his racing career, he says.

Racing on a world-class racetrack is worlds apart from what Nel is used to in Namibia.

“The facilities at Kyalami are world class and the race track is Formula 1 circuit grade – everything is there and the pits are top notch,” he says.

He says most of the cars still required seat fittings.

Making it more intimidating, he says, is the fact that the car is costly, being equippedwith new racing slicks.

On top of this it started raining, Nel says, but this was a good learning curve.

The racing cars used in the series are developed and built in South Africa.

Fitted with a 1.0-litre turbo VW Polo engine, they can reach top speeds of up to 220km/h.

The vehicle, together with the driver, weighs in at around 570kg.

The engine delivers around 120kW on the wheels. The top speed of around 220km/h is not that impressive, Nel says, but the cornering speed is impressive.

The vehicle is designed in such a way that it can go in and around corners at a speed of around 190km/h.

These cars are still capable of high speeds and pulling some racing g-forces on the driver during acceleration, braking and cornering.

Nel says drivers need to be fit both mentally and physically as they have to focus on the tracks throughout the entire race.

His advice is to keep fit and be on the tracks as much as possible.

Nel says he was supposed to race in South Africa during mid May, but this has temporary been halted to sort out a few minor issues, such as getting the machines on par with each other to ensure racers compete equally.

Taking part on such a level requires serious planning, finance and sponsors, Nel says.

He thanks local company Central Cycles for sponsoring his racing ventures.

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