What a feeling, what emotions. Truly had an amazing time to drift with the worlds best!
The Short Story
What an unbelievably awesome and challenging experience we had; bringing back worldly knowledge which we can only build and grow on. We ended up coming 14th out of 35 of the world’s best drivers.
The international exposure was mind boggling, with our vehicle being exposed through social media posts as well as live streaming and facebook and Gymkhana media platforms, not to mention the sharing between avid fans. I have personally had messages from ALL over the world saying “Hey my Buddy, we just saw you on “different social media platforms” JJ I was humbled and I am still receiving messages.
The other thing that shocked me was that I have been receiving stacks of requests to follow me on Instagram. JJ The other international drivers and support team mates have also commented on how impressed they were with our total package presented… and “I can only thank you for helping make my setup look so flippen professional and sexy.” Our mobile workshop was well received with quite a few competitors using our compressed air line as well as our vice on the bench. JJ
I cannot find the words to express my gratitude for all of your assistance and belief. THANK YOU THANK YOU!
The Long Story
After our qualifying process held in Vereeniging on 18th May 2019, where I achieved 1st podium of the South African RWD category and what happened next, was life changing. I had won a ticket to take part in the 2019 Ken Block Gymkhana Grid, Warsaw, Poland which was sponsored by “Monster Energy”. My prize included my vehicle being shipped to Poland and back, my flight ticket and accommodation fully paid for…. PLUS one… JJ Little did I realize that this was going to be the most expensive free gift I had ever won. (HA HA) only because of what I did next. As soon as we returned from our winning qualifying event, we stripped my Nissan S14 drift car right down to a bare chassis. We started with rebuilding her completely and upgrading performance parts and replacing other parts, just to ensure we did not go all the way across the world to participate against some of the world’s best drivers and have mechanical issues and breakages.
We honestly burnt the midnight oil getting my battleship ready. Without the dedication and commitment from my friends, who are also my pit crew ….. well, it just would not have happened. We also decided to manufacture a mobile workbench that would ensure ALL our mechanical needs were taken care of, leaving us wanting for nothing. J
We had the following NASA tools: 7 drawer tool cabinet, 200mm vice, 3 ton aluminium race jack, 4x3 ton jack stands, multiple DeWALT cordless power tools and a 100L TRADEair compressor. We also attached two spare LSD diffs with different ratios, spare gearbox, spare prop shaft, spare electric power steering pump and not to mention the consumables like zip ties, nuts & bolts, rags, spare clutch plates, wheel spacers, table, chairs, kettle etc etc.(which you will see in the attached carnet) We were given a date and time to have our race car ready. It would need to be delivered up in JHB at the shipping agents address. This posed a huge problem because suspension parts we had ordered only arrived the evening before we had to have our race car up in JHB by 08H30, so I liaised with the strapping/cartage company that we would load our vehicle last, so we only needed to be in JHB at 10H30. We were also unfortunately forced to try and organize tyres because for some strange reason our tyre sponsor had not ordered our tyres. LL I found that nothing was happening to get the issue sorted, so I started making my own enquiries about getting the brand of tyre we wanted delivered to the track in Warsaw. We managed to find these tyres in Europe through the Europe Sales Manager of Zestino. It was not the exact type of tyre I wanted but it was the next best. We had to pay upfront for the tyres and then hoped that they would get delivered to an address where someone could deliver them to the event. Mateusz, from Euro Driveshaft’s in Warsaw was so kind to assist us with the following; a braai and a mig/tig gas welding machine which he delivered to the track along with our 6 Zestino 275/35/18 tyres. (Euro Driveshaft’s are owned by AUTOBAX Automotive Solutions in JHB, where John Black is the Managing Director)
As soon as the result of our qualifying victory was out, I received a call from David Underwood from Sharpline congratulating me and he could not wait to inform me of what Lindy van Moerkerken from Avery Dennison and himself from Sharpline Graphics were going to do in support. I could not be more grateful to represent such wonderful brands and products. In fact, the product of Avery Dennison, made me GLOW and stick out like a professional and with Sharpline ensuring that the BEST product is applied in the BEST professional manner ….. well, I was just speechless and grinned from ear to ear.
This is when my eyes were OPENED really wide. I found that David Underwood, from Sharpline Graphics, was not just a sponsor; he joined the ranks of our army and assumed front line position. Dave offered to tow our race car up to JHB from DBN to relieve the pressure from us. At first, I was “thank you but no need to worry. We’ve got this”. BUT, as time rushed through the day, I welcomed the offer and we booked plane tickets for myself and Johan to fly to JHB, leaving Dave the responsibility to tow the S14 up to JHB.
As it turns out, we had only just completed the last fabrication, when Dave arrived to be able to start his journey to JHB. We were shattered to see it was 04H15 on the 05/07/19 ….. we had worked the entire night through. We greeted and wished Dave well for his alone journey and told him we would see him later that morning. We had 1 hour sleep and then had to get ready to go to the airport to fly up to JHB. We were at this stage seriously tired. We arrived at OR Tambo International Airport, where Meyrlene Crafford, from the shipping agent, Marbisol, kindly collected us and took us to the container yard. This is where we would assist in loading my car into the container to start her long voyage to Poland.
We had to wait until 14H30 for the late container to arrive …. which was now 4.5 hours late.
Monday 2nd Sept
Once we landed at midday, I went to collect our rental car and my two accomplices went back into the airport to buy sim cards for their phones. We had arranged to meet at an exit on a lower level but on driving around to the front of the airport with all road signs in Polska Polska, I discovered my 2 accomplices had gone missing. With no means of phoning them nor messaging them, I had to find a parking lot to park in and walk around the airport looking for them. I found them on a landing between two floors sitting on their bags waiting for me. Driving on the wrong side of the roads presented new adrenaline filled challenges, which we welcomed, but definitely a couple of potential arrests showed their heads with our illegal driving maneuvers. When we did finally get to the track at 14h30, I carried out drivers sign on and we were now officially accepted and registered. We found our pits and then proceeded to hang our internal rim banner. We had no container yet, so setting up pits with race car could not happen….YET!!!!
We were also forced to try and organize tyres because for some unknown reason, the tyres I specifically ordered, never arrived……………………………………………………………..???????
One other serious issue we had was that we were not able to take lubricants over in the container. This is where the amazing Business Development Manager of MOTUL South Africa, Stéphanie de Bruin, climbed on board and had sponsored us with awesome Motul products. She had organized this to be done in Warsaw, where Nina Lorent from Motul Poland couriered our lubrication requirements to our hotel reception. Then, on Friday they even came to visit and support us in the event; what an absolutely awesome team they are. This did however, give us an opportunity to try and make some kind of contact with someone that could possibly assist us in getting RACE FUEL because unfortunately our local supplier somehow never organized our fuel LL, we were left DRY. I ended up making quite a few calls and all the referrals seemed to point to the same person. The communication took place and at almost midnight I got a call saying that the fuel I required was available for 160 euros. Obviously I had no option, so yes was the answer. My next question was, “Where do I collect and who do I pay?” The answer was, ”Good, I’ll get my guys to deliver by tomorrow morning.” I then asked where it was coming from? Czechoslovakia was the answer…… WOW. I said, “That’s like 500 – 600 km away!!! And the answer was,, “What’s the problem?”
I was more than grateful and could not believe the comradeship and level of willing to help!!!
Tuesday 3rd Sept
The next day, I learnt through different channels, that the Mafia had organized my fuel !!!! What an unbelievable nice guy he is and we are communicating still together…. I’m just a bit concerned that he said he wants to come visit me in South Africa…. JJ (HELP) HAHA
We got a message at 16h00 that our container was on its way to the track and we had half an hour before it arrived.
We had spent the entire morning trying to organize 160 euros. The ATM’s don’t give euros unless you find a EUROCASH ATM but you have to register to draw euros.
We went to the airport and currency exchange but you cannot use a card to get cash …. you must use cash to get cash. We worked out how much Złoty we needed to get euros and finally, it was done.
When we returned to the track, I found out that I had missed the track walk LL
The container was being unpacked by my two bullies, Johan Weideman and Johan Minnaar. It was a mammoth task to get done, especially with no ramps. They used the wooden planks that were the stability chocks in the container to make up ramps.
During this time of offloading, I was given permission to do a track walk but only with one of the marshals. I was half way through this when I got a call to please go to the gate - Euro Driveshaft’s had just arrived with my delivery of welder, braai and tyres…..so I could not complete my track walk. L
At about 17h45 my car was free and we had the mobile workshop bench on its way on a forklift.
I requested if I could possibly practice and qualify on the Thursday with the AWD category but NO was the answer. I was given special permission to work late in the pits to prepare….. so we worked until 23h00 and got most of the stuff done except for wheel alignment. We did not have equipment with us to do that accurately.
Wednesday 4th Sept - QUALIFYING DAY
Well, the beginning of our event had now arrived.
We made sure we were at the track early because we needed to have our tyres fitted and I needed to find our Race Fuel Once we received the fuel, we were not 100% sure of the mixture: If the mixture was too lean, meaning there is too much ethanol, we risked the chance of damaging the engine.
So, Oom Johan Minnaar, like the professor he is, suggested we run the engine with the current fuel in the tank (which came from South Africa) at a constant 3000rpm and on the computer we can log what the AFR (airflow mixture) reading is. Then, we drain all the fuel and put the new fuel in and do the same process. Well, our hearts stopped because the computer would not link to my car ????
So, we tried to do a software update using my phone as a hot spot ….. I was like a “HOT WHAT??” J Update was successful !!! It turns out that we had almost 100% Ethanol and not 50/50 mixture like we needed. (THIS WOULD HAVE DEFINATELY DESTROYED THE ENGINE)
So with a 1lt and 500ml empty water bottle containers, Oom Johan and Johan started measuring out and premixing our fuel LLL I could not believe my eyes when I returned from drivers briefing. We were practically breaking every safety rule with our caveman backyard style “Fuel Blending Plant” but again, what else could we have done other than have had our fuel ready and delivered. L
So our drivers briefing was under the belt and off we went …… to only sit in frustration and concern because the tyre changing crew were not present. The marshals were asking me when am I going to go out for first practice run because time was running out. I had no option but to smile and say “NO TYRES BUDDY”. The tyre changing crew finally arrived at around 09h50 and the other drivers very kindly made sure my tyres got changed first. So much rushes through your head, is the fuel now ok? Is the car set up good? Are these tyres we managed to get going to work properly? How will the car handle with the alignment like it is? I quickly lined up for my first practice run, I was however the last driver to go out in the first practice run…………… After my first run, I was so disappointed. I discovered that I suffer from “Severe Dementia”….. I forgot the layout on both tracks and obtained a result called DNF (Did Not Finish) and my launch (Pull off) was like I was on ice, NO TRACTION…. After ALL the things we have endured, this result was devastating to me!!! Then I had to remind myself that this was practice and I still had a chance to become a magician and pull a rabbit out of a hat. I thought, “Cool, I’ve got some time to compile and reflect. As I pulled into our pits, the marshals came up to me and said “Practice run session 2 is starting, go line up”. WHAT ?? We made a few changes to tyre pressures and checked why the engine temperature was running so high. At the end of my runs, the engine backfires and retards.
The ECU (Electronic Control Unit) brain of the engine protects the engine and makes automatic changes when under these extremes. Oom Johan made some magical computer changes and basically retuned the engine on the side of the track. WOW!!! I went out on my second practice run and the launch was still bad and I was sad but hey, I sort of got the track layout J, which still definitely could do with some serious tuning…. I was feeling so much better knowing that I never actually suffered from severe dementia ……. I was just a bit stupid. I thought to myself, stupid, I could fix !! On returning to the pits, we made some more changes on tyre pressures and decided to stay on the slightly worn tyres because we were going to leave new tyres for qualifying and the “Big Daddy Tyres” for the race. We also decided to change the differential to one of the spare diffs we took; a higher ratio 4.3:1 was the one we were going to use. This would slow my rear wheel speed down ultimately giving me more traction on launch (pull off) We had the time to do this before practice run 3 before we were about to break for lunch. Oom Johan and Johan buckled down and as quick as possible the diff was changed. While they were changing the diff, I popped out and organized us something to eat. 13h25 arrived and our last practice run #3 was upon us. This was going to be our setter run. To see if all the changes we had made, had helped !!! Both runs felt really good in the sense of track layout, engine temperatures, back firing…… the only issue I had was that those slightly worn tyres were giving me a washout feeling around the obstacles and our launch was still bad. The three of us felt comfortable with the results and times put down, we knew with new tyres and this new diff with higher ratios will be good for our qualifying runs which were coming up 15h24. So we prepared ourselves and were ready for seeding session 1 – first qualifying run. The atmosphere in the pits (paddock) had definitely changed within the drivers - seriousness, last minute changes, replacing broken parts on cars, etc, etc was happening. It was at this exact stage, I was so very grateful that we had stripped my car right down and rebuilt her because all we had to do was finer tuning and minor adjustments (all of our late night workings and replacing crucial components ensured we were reliable) Golden rule: build your car in the workshop and maintain it at the track. J This is such a huge shout out to Johan Weideman and Oom Johan Minnaar!!!!!! For their commitment, efforts and abilities!!!
Our time was up for our first attempt as qualifying presented itself. We ran times that put us on the score board. I was not over the moon about the two runs but they were solid enough to place us 11th out of the 35 drivers. To give you an example from our practice runs to our first qualifying run: we had dropped our times from 1:44 and 1:45 down to 1:41.139 and a 1:39.371. But as I entered our pits, I heard and felt a “clunk” at the rear. I asked the Johan’s to please check if the side shaft outer nuts hadn’t by any chance loosened a bit. On inspection, they found that the diff was about to completely destroy itself…. SO NOW the game was on. We practically had 15 min to replace the diff and reinstall the other 3,89:1 ratio diff back into position. The horrible thought went through my mind, “What is that going to do to our time in the run????” At this specific time, I realized my wife was right. I am slightly mad because I found myself talking to myself (which can be ok at times) BUT I was answering myself and convincing myself that I had to deal with the cards I’d been dealt because there is nothing I can do about it and I’m not about to give up!!!! Our second and final opportunity to get decent times on the scoreboard was up and we were ready on the start grid. We were running against Mantas Sligeris from Lithuania in his modified supercharged Mazda MX5 - not that it’s a race, it’s just good to compare against and obviously, if I do better times, It places me better in the qualifying placings. I was in the left lane and in gear, clutch preloaded, rpm up a bit and the RED light went off. The timer started and drivers do what they must - clutches out and cars are off… The Mazda pulled me on launch and was gone, while I feel like I’m taking part in the “Princess on Ice show” - my rear end just doesn’t make traction and I find myself feathering the throttle to minimize wheel spin. As I changed to 2nd then into 3rd gear, I squeezed the throttle more and more until midway through 3rd gear.. EVERYTHING came alive and I had so much traction it’s was the most AMAZING feeling. The only issue was that I was now starting to run into the deceleration zone. I found my front wheels locking up when having to break a bit harder to engage the curve around the wall of barrels. Funny enough, this is where I tended to make up A LOT of my lost time from the bad launch. The rest of the track layout was tight maneuvers around obstacles and I seemed to get this done quite well. We also had two straights where we could full throttle to make up time. I managed to catch up to Mantas through the track and as we entered our final obstacle, I had gained more ground and exited the track before him. I was extremely chuffed with that run. I just wished that I could have had a better launch. Straight away, we changed lanes and I’m was now in the right hand lane….The exact same thing happened like it did in the left lane except for one MAJOR issue. As I come around the wall of barrels, I got confused as to which direction to take…. “NNNOOOOO”… It’s unbelievable how quick your brain is. I slowed down to try and regain my focus and direction. If I’d stopped or changed direction, I would have automatically got a DNF. I was at least thankful to put time on the clock BUT, I messed up and that ended up placing me into 14th position overall.
WOW, I was so disappointed with myself. I ended up running a very good time of 1:37.071 in run 1 and a disappointing time of 1:43.668 in run 2. Well, it was now done and all the drivers went to the drivers lounge to receive the results……….. It was actually very emotional with some of the top competitors not making it through due to errors, car breakages and parts failures.
Thursday 5th Sept
We had this day off because it was the AWD category and their chance to do their stuff.
We decided to make additional changes and prepare ourselves for the Friday full day open practice. Man, was I excited for this because we could now try and set our wheel alignment giving us optimal rear grip and traction. We also decided to do something very different and ADD weight to the car. We went into town and found a “Makro” and a building material supplier. We bought special bags, sand, a manual hand pump, water, cokes, a long ass bread roll, 3 different types of ham, cheese, lettuce and an awesome sauce (this was all for my tomorrow’s special gourmet Baguette lunch) JJ
We also pre-planned our dinner which had to be a “Braai”, so we bought steak, Boerie and chicken - not forgetting the important part…. Rolls. JJ
Friday 6th Sept
We had an early breakfast at the hotel and once again, on our way back to the track, found ourselves racing an A45 AMG Mercedes on the freeway. It was one of the other race drivers and pit crew members but a principal is a principal ……. there are no rules in off circuit racing. JJ
So, again we won, in our rental Toyota Estate…. Somehow a rental is ALWAYS faster. JJJ
This was our day to test and set up properly.
We ended up getting one full run in and half a run against Jonathan Buck “Bakkie” in his AWD Subaru………..and that was it.
LL we waited for longer in the lane for line up than anything imaginable.
It was Media rides - which I was signed up for but we were not yet ready with setup to be able to take passengers…………… so the Monster drivers got preference with Media rides. J
We tried to take advantage of idle time and started setting up our wheel alignment. We put 4 stands at each corner of the car, with string tied around making a box. We were busy when Martin Richards, a current European Drift Masters winner, walked up and offered to assist us. WOW !!
He brought an amazing string alignment kit in a box and started setting it up on my car. I just stood and watched in absolute admiration on how this internationally recognized gentleman just stepped in and personally started setting up my alignment.
I could not stop thanking him when he said, “Thank You for helping us last year in South Africa at Gymkhana Grid 2018.” All we had done was merely assist his fiancé, Tessa Whittock, when she had overheating issues on her Skyline R33. WOW, what a gentleman and professional sportsman.
In fact HE IS A CHAMPION!!!!!!!
Once we had set up my car and fitted my “Big Daddy Tyres” we were ready to try. I went to one of the chief marshals and asked if I could please move the gate and join in for a last practice run just to check alignment and tyre choice because we had finally managed to get it sorted.
The answer knocked me flat, “No, sorry – the track is closed”.
I was big eyed J and tried again “No seriously, we have just managed to get settings done and if I could please do one more run, I would be so grateful”.
Again, I was told “track is closed, sorry, it’s not like you came from far now” and he laughed. I thought he was kidding BUT nope he was not.
I thought, “There are 9 other cars lined up for a practice run, could I not just join and make it an even number for runs?” but again, I don’t swim upstream and I respect that the organizers can’t change rules for individual competitors. J
Anyway, cowboys don’t cry!!!!
So we prepared for the next day à RACE DAY.
Our 1st run was against Daigo Saito from Japan in his NEW Toyota Supra. Daigo is only ranked the world’s BEST #1.
It was what it was, we couldn’t change things, so we would go into battle gallantly. JJ It was an absolute honour to be driving against such a legend ….. money cannot buy what I experienced that week.
Saturday 7th Sept - RACE DAY
This was the official day that the Paddock was opened to the public. It was insane. All the different ages and genders - people coming through asking questions and paying attention; you could see they were passionate and interested in what I was saying.
I was bowled over by their respect and manners. They would ask to take one sticker instead of “hey free stickers and posters” and grab handfuls like back in South Africa.
A group of three people, I will never forget JJ
The main guy asked where the driver was and I then introduced myself. He smiled and was polite and then asked again who the driver was? So I said, “I am the driver”.
His facial reaction was priceless and he said “Excuse me, I’m sure you can see by my reaction that I’m thinking…. Um ….that….” so I interrupted and said “Yes, you are probably thinking , how young I look”
He laughed and said “Yes, something like that” ha ha…..
He could not believe that I was the driver and he said that he had watched me going around and he had no idea…. I then told him that age has nothing to do with having fun nor making dreams come true!!
He asked about my family and I told him that I have a son back home that also drifts with us.
He said ”That’s so cool. He must be having so much fun and learning a lot. He must be about 15 yrs old!”
This is why I will never forget this guy!!!
I then told him my son was 33 years old. His face showed vivid signs of pain, disbelief, shock and surprise at the same time.. he stood there just looking at me dumbfound and silent.
After a few seconds he asked, “Sorry, how old you then?” when I told him, 52, it looked like he had just received the winning lotto numbers JJ
Then you can just imagine how the questions came flying. One specific question again seemed to spark something in his expression.
When he asked me “How long have you been drifting/racing?”
I told him, “This is my 4th year now. It’s never too late” I said with a smile !!
Apparently that “inspired him more than I could ever imagine”, were his words!!!
It was seriously so AWESOME to realize that I had managed to make a difference in someone’s life just by following my own passion.
It was a lesson I learnt at that moment …. Always behave and treat others with respect, never forget where you come from because there is ALWAYS someone watching you.
Two days later I received a random message – funny how things work à”The things you take for granted, someone else is praying for” – makes you think.
All the drivers of both RWD and AWD categories climbed into their cars and completed a driver parade onto the left hand side track and stopped in front of the main grand stands. We all climbed out of our cars and stood next to them. The drivers were all introduced and we removed our caps for the Poland National Anthem.
We then all climbed back into our cars and completed a driver parade on the right hand side track and then exited returning to our pits.
After the first smoke and style show was finished, the main Battles began at 16h00.
The battles took place as follows:
Top 16 RWD race 1
Top 16 AWD race 1
Top 16 RWD race 2
Top 16 AWD race 2
And so on.
My race against Daigo Saito was battle 7 at 17h50.
We had to be in the lineup lane way before time, so there we were, alongside a “Legend”. A “Multiple World Champion” - what un unbelievable feeling it was!
Daigo can speak a bit of English but I believe he prefers to speak through his interpreter because of his lack of vocabulary.I found myself gazing across at him a few times, so I decided to break the ice and asked his representative to please tell Daigo that it was actually an honour to be able to get to drive with Daigo because we do not get these opportunities often at all.
Daigo smiled and nodded once, said something to his rep and then his rep asked me, “Why can’t I speak to our drivers?” I was a bit confused and asked what he meant. He said Daigo said you can’t speak to our drivers ?I smiled and then said, “No, what I was saying is that it is an absolute privilege and an honor to be able to get this opportunity to drive against Daigo because of who he is and what he has accomplished with his ability and level of skills.”
Daigo then leaned off his boot, faced me, put his hands together, bowed his head slightly and said, “Thank you.”
At that moment he gained all my respect and my first thought was, what a humble champion. He definitely is not bigger than the moment. He is definitely an example for kids and adults to follow.
I was then asked when do I practice gymkhana in South Africa ?
I told him that I don’t. We explained that we don’t have these events in my province/area. We have only taken part at the previous Gymkhanas other than the qualifying events and 1 drift City in Cape Town, which is very far away from where we live.
I explained that I compete in drifting in the SupaDrift series and we generally only get to practice at the events.We do get a practice morning at our local track “Dezzi Raceway” but we can’t always make it to the once a month practice morning that is allocated. It is on the 1st Wednesday of each month and I work, so we have business commitments too that interfere J
Daigo lifted his eyebrows, smiled and then said “Road?”
I laughed and put both the inner parts of my wrists together and said “Police”, he laughed. J
I asked how long Daigo had been drifting?
His rep said since he was 19 years old when he started. Daigo then said, “20 year”.
“WOW, that’s awesome” I said. “That’s cool”.
Daigo then asked me, “And you?”
I told him that this was my 4th year now.
He frowned and said “No, 14 ?”
I said, “No, 4 years, I started when I was 48”.
Daigo said something to his rep in “Ninja karate language” and then his rep said “Respectfully, how old are you?
I thought straight away, come on …. I thought you Japanese okes could calculate faster than a computer but obviously I didn’t share my thoughts at that time. J
So I said, “Well I’m 52 years old”
Daigo looked shocked and almost lifted his hand to his mouth. I said with a big smile ”Yes, you respect your elders now hey ?” ha ha. They all laughed.
Time for chatting was up. We wished each other well and climbed into our cars and lined up for our race.
Brad, who had been our race start marshal the whole event, lined us up as usual and I was ready.
But in my mind, I had questions popping up.
Will this new launch control button Oom Johan installed work? I had never used launch control before and ours was a ‘Boer maak a plan’ because my ECU management system did not have a launch control function!
So Oom Johan Minnaar, used his ability and knowledge by tapping into the TPS (throttle position sensor) and some other temperature sender unit to make up a type of “launch control”.
We were not given a final opportunity during open practice/media rides to test after we had finally set the alignment, put launch control and fitted those “Big Daddy Tyres” (the intermediate/slick) because the track was closed.
I’m waiting, waiting, waiting for the red light, when Brad walks over to us and instructs us to back off the start line. I reverse back 10m and stop in line with Daigo.
There had been an oil spill on the track from a previous competitor that was being cleaned up.
After what felt like an age, Brad walked up to me and said, “OK, track has been cleared, oil is covered, you can do a straight line tyre warm up and stop by the start line.”
I wasn’t even concerned about this oil issue or what the delay even was. ALL I thought was cool, I can try this launch control out. J
So I backed up as far as I could, held the button in, put my accelerator flat and dropped the clutch and at the same time letting the button go…. BOOM, instant wheel spin, so I then left foot braked and tried to warm up my tyres.
“I thought, did I do it wrong, was that what is supposed to happen? Must I ease my clutch out more?”
Well, it was now time to focus on the track.
Red light goes off and I was off.
My launch did feel better but I noticed Daigo just pulling away like I was on half throttle.
I selected 2nd gear, then 3rd and as I felt the traction grip, I squeezed the throttle more and then I was full throttle again, approaching the zone where I should have been tapping off.
I held it a second longer and took the turn to go around the wall of barrels. All felt good until I’m was just past a quarter of the way around. I felt the rear of my car start to break away as it lost grip.
I decided to drift that section instead of breaking, which would offset the angle and direction. I gave a lot of acceleration to get the rear end out enough BUT I didn’t want to accelerate too much and for too long because it would have made me wash out wider around the end and then set me up on the wrong line for the next obstacle.
I counter steered and trimmed the E-brake to try and get a nice tight line out the barrels BUT unfortunately I hit the last barrel with the corner of the left front bumper - only 1 foot more and it would have been clear.
NNNOOOO !!! A 1 second time penalty was automatically added to my run. I thought – FOCUS !!! It had happened, now I just had to concentrate because I knew I could be fast and tight around the obstacles.
I approached the beginning of the figure 8 cotton reels and as I braked, E-braked and turned, got worst feeling you could ever want to feel …… I was washing wide, my traction was disgusting. As I squeezed the throttle to bullet out towards the next cotton reel, I felt the rear end swaying behind, not pushing. I had a bad choice of tyre for this track. There was very bad traction. I wish I could explain how frustrating, disappointing and heartbreaking that felt LL
I continued to do my best but there were no second breaks here, this was reality.
I would like to think I hung in there, not too far behind Daigo, until I completed an extra circle around the final obstacle (the Ford Fiesta). This automatically gave me a DNF for that run.
Extremely disheartened, we changed over lanes and completed our next run. The right hand lane was completed correctly but I was not fast enough to defeat the legend, Daigo Saito.
Feeling wounded and many things running through my head, I slowly drove back to our pits to face my two ‘Omegos’ who I realized were going to be as equally disappointed.
After we discussed and recaptured the issues of the event, reflecting on what could have been instead of what had just happened, we were happy with our efforts.
We agreed that with ALL the information and experiences we had just been privileged to learn, we were taking HOME WORLDLY EXPERIENCE, which we can only use and build on.
Almost instantly our decision was to apply that knowledge and build a vehicle that can compete against the world’s BEST. So if we are fortunate enough to be able to take part next year… WE WILL BE READY!!!! JJJJ
I decided to do the right thing and went to Daigo’s pits to congratulate him.
As I entered his lounge area, he was sitting in a bean bag and as he saw me he said, “HAAA” and started standing up.
As I got to him, I put my hand out and he shook my hand. He then put his other arm around me and gave me a hug. I respectfully thanked him for the race and congratulated him; I was happy for him.
He said “You did good” and gave me a thumbs up and I said “Thank you but no, that was a bad run. It felt like I was on ice part of the time but thank you again.”
I congratulated all his guys and they were also very friendly and respectful.
Well, my best wishes went out to the rest of the drivers and I hoped they all had a jol, like we had.
We decided to start packing our container because we had to leave for the airport by 9am the following morning. Lucky we did start straight away because we only finished at 23h30.
We had an amazing dinner at one of the only restaurants open at that time – Burger King JJ
It was past midnight and we had only just got to our hotel to shower and get ready for the after party that was at Hard Rock Café in town. We showered and after a lot of deliberating, went to bed because it was now close on 01h00 JJ
We had a long flight home and were honestly tired but so very HAPPY to step back on South African soil. Seeing my family made me realize, I was actually a winner already. I had missed them intensely. JJ
I would honestly like to personally thank the following people and businesses that made it possible for myself and my team to go abroad and represent our country and ourselves!!!!!!
Without you guys doing, pulling and organizing, I truthfully believe that it would have not been possible to achieve this on our own.
THANK YOU
so very much and I hope you ALL got some benefit and exposure from our epic journey.
AmbiLube SA: Michele van Eyssen and JP Labuschagne.
Sharpline Graphics: Dave Underwood and his team Anton DeWaal, Chris Da Costa and Glen.
Simatec Smart Technologies: Mischa Wyssmann, Marc Fischer and Angela Werschel.
Avery Dennison: Lindy van Moerkerken.
Motul: Stéphanie de Bruin and Nina Lorent
Nasa Tools: Zaheer Ismail and Mervin Govender
TWR (Total Wheel Rebuilders): John and Andy Goodman
CV Joint Specialists Pinetown: Devlin Neaves and Neresh Damohar
M-TRAC: Ken Westermeyer
Viking Customs: Johan Weideman
MRD Racing and Tuning: Oom Johan Minnaar
Euro Driveshafts: Mateusz Krokowski and Margret
Autobax: John Black
I truthfully believe that this experience was testing the waters and I honestly look forward to being able to put what we learnt from this, into action and create an absolute game changer in the next event if we are privileged enough to take part in again.
The true encounters of me - Eric the Viking while i took on the best of the best in drifting around the globe.