Collin Matiza-Zimpapers Sports Hub
THINGS are boiling very nicely for Zimbabwean driver Rayhaan Maganezi in the Vilaca Racing Time Attack Championship in South Africa.
Maganezi competed in Round 3 of this exciting motorsport event at Red Star Raceway in Delmas, South Africa, on Saturday.
The 27-year-old driver went into Saturday’s race meeting sitting in third place in the Street FWD Class and he did well to finish in fourth place. The top three places went to South African drivers, championship leader Marcel Trutter, Ashraf Soomra and Ettienne Barnard.
The day started off far from ideal for Maganezi.
He was experiencing significant brake fade, to the point where he couldn’t complete an entire lap at maximum pace.
That left him roughly two seconds off the pace, while other competitors continued getting faster throughout the day.
Maganezi’s team – Jozi Boost Racing Team – made the difficult call to sacrifice an hour or two of racing to replace the brake pads and discs.
Fortunately, they had travelled with spares — and that decision proved to be the turning point. Once the new brakes were fitted, it took some time to bed them in and get them performing at their best. But lap by lap, the pace started coming back.
Maganezi eventually closed the gap in the Street FWD Class, going two seconds faster and securing a place in the shootout.
The problem?
His closest competitor had also found two seconds, meaning he still had a huge deficit to overcome.
Maganezi had the pleasure of having his father, Robson, alongside him for the shootout, and it turned into one of the closest sessions of the day.
Robson Maganezi is a former motor rally driver who grew up in Bindura here in Zimbabwe before he relocated to South Africa.
In the shootout, Rayhaan pushed hard and managed to bring the gap down to just 0.25 seconds.
That recovery was enough to secure 4th place overall for Round 3, while maintaining pressure on the car ahead until the chequered flag.
Considering where the day started, the entire team was extremely pleased with the recovery.
With just one round remaining, Rayhaan said the focus now shifts to taking everything they’ve learned this year and putting it together for one final push at the overall season standings.
“And regardless of where we finish, I’m already incredibly proud of what this team has achieved,” Rayhaan told Zimpapers Sports Hub soon after Saturday’s race meeting.
“We came into this championship almost out of nowhere — and Jozi Boost Racing is now on the map.
“Our goal has always been bigger than just racing. We want to challenge the idea that you need a massive budget to get onto a race track. We believe motorsport can be more accessible — with safety first and driver seat time second.
“Next year, we’re looking to grow the team, bring additional cars onto the grid and become even more competitive.”
To make that happen, Rayhaan said they are actively looking for partners and brands who want to collaborate with his team and help grow accessible grassroots motorsport both in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
“The car has plenty of advertising space, but more importantly, there’s an opportunity to become part of something we’re building from the ground up,” Rayhaan said.
And the young Zimbabwean driver is slowly making a name for himself in the tough world of Time Attack Championship in South Africa.
Time Attack is a non-wheel to wheel racing Time attack event series which takes place on various race tracks in South Africa.
Drivers compete against the clock to see which car and driver is the fastest combination on the day.
Originating from Japan, Time Attack is about racing against the clock to prove who can build the fastest tuning car and using the latest tuning techniques to do so — with minimal red tape and one goal — be the quickest no matter the car. Any power, any weight, any type.
