Johannesburg - Street racing, also popularly known as drag racing, is a sport that has been noticed for all of the wrong reasons.
In a country with such a high rate of road accidents, traffic departments are coming down hard on unlawful use of the roads, failing to display license plates and driving without a license, as well as racing illegally on public roads.
The Michelin Cup Challenge is an initiative that gives street racers an opportunity to throttle it out legally on the racetrack.
It’s open to both male and female racers, who are enticed by the rush of seeing how far they can push their cars, on legal turf.
The Cup Challenge was introduced in 2012 as a safe alternative to the usually disorganised street racing that takes place on city and township roads.
Sponsored by tyre company Michelin and organised by the Audi and Renault Sport clubs of South Africa, the event opens the track to all brands. The likes of BMW, Subaru, Toyota, Honda, VW, Noble, Nissan GTR, Porsche, Opel, and Mazda have all been part of the challenge.
Since its inception the challenge has grown from 30 to 200 members. It takes place over seven months and awards prizes to its winners at the end of the campaign.
“The Michelin Cup Challenge is targeted at those avid drivers who are looking for something different when it comes to car racing and that is a safer thrill,” says Michelin’s Preshantan Pillay.
“This event takes place several times during the year at different locations which offer racing the strips, the track and even dyno cars.
“This way, we cater for all car enthusiasts and fanatics of the track. Drivers can expect exhilarating fun at this competitive series of events.”
For now the Michelin Cup Challenge only takes place in Gauteng, but with plans to roll it out in Cape Town. The next round will be held at Witbank’s Redstar raceway this Saturday. Registered Cup Members pay a fee of R650 to participate, while non registered members pay R750, and passengers who want to take in the action from the front seat, will pay R50.