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Dragpro Club, who run this exciting motosport event in this country, recently secured a title sponsor from one of the country’s leading mobile cellphone companies, Telecel.
And after an encouraging increase in new competitor numbers at the last event, Susan Zevgolis, the secretary of the Dragpro Club, said they are expecting to see these new recruits returning tomorrow and they also hope to see some newcomers on the start line.
“The dynamics of the podium have shifted this year after Patrick O’Hara sadly passed away earlier in the year. We hope in time to see his Yellow V8 Buggy back on the track, although Patrick will be sorely missed and fondly remembered by fellow competitors and race fans,” Zevgolis said.
The current fastest car at the drags has been the Subaru STI driven by Kevin Allmark. However, it remains to be seen whether he will make an appearance at tomorrow’s event after a serious engine failure at the March 2 drags.
Tomorrow’s race meeting could see a very different group of top dogs fighting for the top places, where the fastest cars are now separated by only tenths of seconds, bringing a very exciting element and level of serious competitiveness to the game.
At the March 2 event around 2 500 people packed into Donnybrook as drag racing continues to gain in popularity.
The crowd was treated to some exciting racing, good networking opportunities and an overall fun family day.
It should be noted that Zimbabwe has some very fast cars on the strip, with 10 and 11 second elapsed times from road going vehicles, this is nothing short of spectacular considering that they are privately owned and not corporate sponsored cars!
This is pretty impressive given the lack of sponsorship for drivers and the track conditions.
“As the sport continues to grow and gain in popularity and time goes by, the race times we are seeing are getting quicker and drivers are taking steps to improve on their current vehicles or begin projects to bring new combinations to the track,” Zevgolis said.
Drag racing is a public motorsport and almost anyone is welcome to compete. The only qualifying criteria is that the vehicle passes safety scrutineering and the driver has no serious medical conditions.
Safety helmets, whilst compulsory, can be purchased from the Dragpro Club at the track, on the day or “borrowed” for a refundable fee.
Cars and motorcycles are welcome and there are currently five classes for the cars and three classes for the bikes.
And it is no secret that local motorsport enthusiasts and drag racing and sound off competitors are gearing up for tomorrow’s event with Sound Off by Venom Customs.
As the name suggests, public drag racing is a motorsport where members of the public can come and compete without pre-registration or previous experience.
It is therefore difficult to predict what drivers and vehicles will happen to be there on the day, but the dynamics have shifted of late with one of the previous top dogs, the Yellow V8 buggy out of running for the time being and the other (Subaru Sti) apparently pulling out all the stops to be back “on the road” by tomorrow!
Time is running out though for the crew of the Blue Subaru and it remains to be seen whether it will make it tomorrow.
In the bike classes, a good turnout is expected after the introduction of a third bike class in response to competitor requests, which should see some new interesting competition as a result of the re-distribution.
The usual veteran competitors will be there – Phil Archenoul on his Suzuki GSXR1000 will be there.
Archenoul is a very well known motorsport veteran and on the drag racing front he is a perfect example of how valuable experience is as he often shows up the much younger competitors with more powerful bikes.
Terry Allberry from Bulawayo is a dedicated support on the Harare drag racing scene and the organisers of tomorrow’s event hope to see him returning with his Cobra which did not make it to the last event although he did come up from Bulawayo and competed in his Chevrolet Silverado.
Another veteran, Basil Barnes, should also be coming, making an impressive three Cobra line up.
Personal battles exist between other drivers for example D Mwale and G Samuriwo both in the same class in BMW M3s and separated by half a second and A Koumides, T Chigede and L Mutsunguma all driving Subaru Forresters and separated by tenths of seconds.
The last event also welcomed some new competitors (a very pleasing indicator of the growing popularity of the sport) and they are bound to be stepping up their game as they come into the second event with some experience of the track and the timing equipment procedures etc.
It is going to be very exciting for fellow competitors and racing fans to follow these newcomers throughout the 2013 season.
A Sound Off event will run in conjunction with the drag racing and it will be interesting to see if this will attract some newcomers.
The drag racing and Sound Off will start from 11am with Eliminations at 4pm followed by a prize giving for the two events. Prizes, trophies and certificates are on offer to the top three placed in each class. In fact, Venom Customs will be running the Sound Off tomorrow in conjunction with the drags. There will be four classes.
There will also be prizes, trophies and certificates for first and second-placed and a trophy and certificate for third placed.
The Dragpro Club continues to appeal to the public to “Race the Track, not the Street” so if you want to push your vehicle to the limit or compete seriously or just have some fun, then come to Donnybrook tomorrow and share in the excitement and atmosphere. Admission is $5 per person with kids under the age of 10 years entering with no charge.
Donnybrook motor racing circuit is adjacent to Harare’s eastern suburb of Mabvuku and is accessible through Arcturus Road (near Chikurubi Maximum Prison) or Mutare Road.
Online Reporter