“The law enforcement agencies won't be able to stop us.” This is the unrepentant message from Joburg's illegal drag racers, who say they will continue to take to the streets despite the recent call by Transport Minister S'bu Ndebele's to stop illegal street racing after the previous weekend's deadly drag-racing accident in Pretoria which claimed the lives of three people.
Police officers across the country have been urged to crack down on the scourge, but petrolheads are having none of it, especially one of Joburg's most popular drag-racing clubs, the SouthSide Crew.
“Drag racing is going to happen no matter where or what may stop them. Maybe if there were more legal places for the racers to race things like this would not happen - then we would not have to have illegal drags,” said Reshma Singh, a racer for SouthSide Crew.
Singh, who has been drag racing for over 10 years, said they had been forced to drag race on public roads. There are no places that host legal racing unless it's an event. “The legal drag racing on Wednesday and Friday nights at Wesbank Raceway came to an end when it closed down,” she said.
“That place took most of the racers inside. There are many venues for racing, but those are all top secret,” she said.
Asked about the horrific drag racing accident in Pretoria last weekend, Singh said: “The guys in Pretoria had a mixture of alcohol and fast cars; the two together are a no-no.”
Singh added that there was nothing wrong with illegal drag racing if it was done the right way.
“I have witnessed two deaths as a result of drag racing. One was a dear friend and his son who tragically passed away, and the other was a family member, but, like I said, they were there at the wrong place at the wrong time,” she said.
Singh said that nothing would stop drag racers from taking to the streets. She claimed police had themselves joined them to drag race on a few occasions.
“The law enforcement agencies won't be able to stop this. It is a huge issue, but we will go on with or without them. We have had plenty of law enforcement officers coming to watch,” said Singh.
Motoring expert Rob Handfield-Jones agrees that it will be very difficult for law enforcement agencies in the country to stop illegal drag racing from happening.
“It's good that he (S'bu Ndebele) is encouraging the authorities to take action. However, I don't think anything can be done to curb it,” said Jones.
“Illegal drag racing is as old as motoring itself; it will never be eliminated,” he said.
Handfield-Jones added that all drivers needed to be aware and take extra precautions when driving at night. All we can do is to prosecute any illegal drag racers we catch to the full extent of the law, and ensure that other drivers recognise that any road is a potential racetrack,” he said.
“Drivers should take extra care when entering intersections or changing lanes, especially at night and particularly over weekends,” he added.
Handfield-Jones said there were numerous reasons for illegal drag racing, which has become increasingly popular in the country.
“Some people may see participation in illegal motorsport as a way to 'prove' themselves to their peer group or girlfriends; for others it's a question of wanting to demonstrate how fast their vehicles are; and for still others it might be that they cannot afford the cost of legal, sanctioned motorsport,” he said.
“There are numerous venues where racing can be practised legally. The question should rather be why people choose to participate in illegal, rather than legal racing,” he said.
“Dicing on a public road does not begin to meet the definition of sport. It's mere opportunistic hooliganism and it stands to reason that it is likely to be highly risky,” he added.
Meanwhile Facebook has been buzzing with drag racers calling for more venues to be built so that they can race legally.
“Wesbank was the best. If we could get a place like that again, illegal events will calm down allot,” said Trevor Boshoff, a Joburg drag racer.
Andrew Egan said: “If there was somewhere I could go drag my car, I would. Illegal is unsafe. We need something like Wesbank again.”
Jameel Yakoob said he was hoping that the government would realise the need for proper race venues to be built.
“It would be awesome if everyone in the motor industry got together with government and car clubs to build a proper race venue just like Wesbank, in a central area. Even if they charge a small fee to enter the premises and race, it's going to be worth it,” he said.
Meanwhile Motorsport South Africa has said there are ample legal drag racing strips in Gauteng.
MSA's Estie du Toit said they run a programme called Illegal-to-Legal to get the dragsters off public roads.
“They race at venues where measures are in place, where officials are trained, where the circumstances are safe both for spectators and drivers,” she added. -Saturday Star