adminSusan Zevgolis, the secretary of the DragPro Club who run drag racing in this country, recently reveled that Telecel agreed to be their new title sponsor and the company will be officially unveiled as their main sponsors at their next race meeting at Donnybrook this coming Sunday.
“It (the sponsorship deal) has just been finalised (and) so I am expecting things to rocket ahead of our next race meeting on April 28 at Donnybrook Raceway. Basically the event will run along the same lines as before but this is the first time we have been able to secure a title sponsor for drag racing in Zimbabwe.
“The series has now been renamed the Telecel 2013 Dragpro Drag Racing Series. As title sponsors, Telecel will have certain exclusive opportunities and they include event title, Telecel branded wristbands and finish line banner if they wish.
“We hope that having Telecel as a partner will prove invaluable in terms of promoting the sport of drag racing in general and reaching a greater audience.
“This latest development with Telecel as title sponsor is the cherry on the cake and will, however, positively impact on our future plans to improve on equipment and facilities.
We have already been making enquiries into getting LED display boards which will benefit the spectators and racing fans because they will be able to see the car times displayed after every race instead of relying on a public address system.
“We are also excited that Telecel will be able to bring our sport to new audiences through their far reaching network, which we hope will in time encourage new drivers.
“After an encouraging increase in new competitor numbers at the last event we are expecting to see these new recruits return on Sunday, April 28 and we also hope to see some newcomers on the start line,” Zevgolis said.
Telecel are now going to join fellow local companies hp Lubes/Castrol, RAM Petroleum, Belts ‘n’ Hoses, Turbo Solutions Africa, Autobusiness Magazine and Autobrakes as one of the major sponsors of drag racing in Zimbabwe. Temba Mazvimbakupa of the Zimbabwe Motorsport Federation described the coming on board of Telecel into sponsoring drag racing as a major boost for motorsport in general in Zimbabwe.
“As you know, motorsport in Zimbabwe has of late been struggling to attract major sponsors for events such as motor rallying, motocross and circuit racing but the coming on board of Telecel as one of the major sponsors of drag racing is a welcome development for all of us in the ZMSF family.
“We would also like to give the DragPro Club a pat on the back for attracting big sponsors such as Telecel into their sport and I think this will see drag racing growing from strength to strength in this country . . . This is really good for the sport,” Mazvimbakupa said.
And this coming Sunday will see the home of local motosport — Donnybrook in Harare — hosting another round of the popular and fast growing motorsport event of drag racing.
The opening round of the 2013 series was held at Donnybrook on March and this event attracted a full house. Action will start 10am with all top local drag racing drivers in action and will be followed by the drifting and spinning attractions.
In fact, this exciting motor racing event will have the country’s top car and motorcycle racers competing in V8’s, sports cars, production cars, single seaters and on superbikes.
There will also be a Sound Off event on Sunday and it will run between 11am and 4pm.
The prize giving for this event will be held in conjunction with the drag racing prize giving, scheduled around 5pm, or as soon as possible after completion of the drag eliminations event, in the Shell Circle.
There will be a full bar and catering, and tickets will be going for US$5 per person.
Online Reporter