Pretoria - Tyres peeling off bit by bit, smoke and incredible walk-out stunts were the order of the day as the Battle of the Nations kicked off at Mahem Raceway.
Hosted by Sosh Spin Kingz and the City of Tshwane, the event saw 7000 revellers queuing to see spinners from Botswana, Swaziland, Mozambique and South Africa showing off their skills.
The event was also intended to educate fans on how to drift in a safe and controlled environment.
Tshwane Metro Police Department senior superintendent Isaac Mahamba said: “We know that spinning and drifting occur in townships such as Mamelodi, Atteridgeville and Soshanguve.
“Through this event we wanted to educate them on how to enjoy themselves safely.”
Sosh Spin Kingz spokesman Lesego Skosana said they had underestimated how many people would come through and by 6pm the venue had already reached it capacity of 7000.
“We had to turn down a crowd of 3 000 back as there was no longer any space for them to enter,” he said.
Ndumiso Dlamini from Swaziland said he had been spinning for five years and would not change for any other sport.
Dlamini said that for him spinning was a way to de-stress and he was confident that events such as this brought people together regardless of their origin.
CROWD FAVOURITE
Austin Kruger, 15, from Mahikeng said he had taught himself to spin when he was only 12.
“No one in my family did this before but I just fell in love with the sport,” he said. “Only me and my 12-year-old brother took an interest in this sport.”
Kruger said so far he had only broken his arm twice and his ankle when he fell from the roof of a car but he wouldn’t give it up for anything.
Skosana said: “The judges ended up in a tie over the winner so they decided to let the last two contenders from Mpumalanga and Mahikeng battle it out so the crowd could decide.”
In the end the crowd roared for their favourite and Kruger emerged victorious.
Mahamba said they were happy with the turn-out for the event as it drew in quite a large crowd and preliminary reports showed that there were no major incidents or injuries.
“Everything looks good so far but we will continue to liaise with South African Police Services on how things went. Although only the Botswana and Swaziland spinners could make it we are confident that we have managed to build positive relationships with them,” he said.
Mahamba said they had been aware of illegal spinning and drifting in Mamelodi, Atteridge-ville and Soshanguve for some time.
“We don’t want to discourage the sport altogether, but instead urge people to stop the spinning in township roads.
“Through this campaign we want to educate them of where to do it and safely so,” he said.
Pretoria News