On Sunday, the Grand Parade will be filled with the sounds of revving engines and the doorstep of the City Hall will be engulfed in smoke as the motoring fraternity gears up for Drift City.
In a breakthrough for motoring events in the Cape, last year saw the inaugural event staged to world-class expectations and this year will be no different when 17 drifters go bumper to bumper for more motoring entertainment at the iconic Grand Parade.
Event organiser Gary Stockenstroom said this year promises to be “bigger, better, louder in every sense of the word”.
“The biggest change in this year’s event is that we will essentially be hosting a day and night event with the action starting about 1pm and will go on into the night.
“With that we can throw in a lot of theatrics and we can add lights, flame throwers and cool stuff to make it more than a motorsport event but also a production,” Stockenstroom said.
He said he wanted to create a space which Capetonians can identify with and highlight the culture shared among “petrol heads”.
“Over and above the cars, which are the catalysts and attraction that draws people to the event, we want an event that encompasses family life and what it is to be a Capetonian.
“The landscape around the Grand Parade should evoke nostalgia and what it is like to be proudly Capetonian,” he said.
Female drifter and Dr1ftSquad member, Malikah Daniels, will also be part of the action on the day as she shreds tyres in the drift exhibition area.
“We will be taking people out in the cars on the day and they can have an actual drift experience.
“They will be able to experience the thrill of the sport,” she said.
Daniels said she had been in on the skilled sport for about seven years now and remembers the first time she finally got her first drift right.
“Everybody starts off with spinning and the more you practise, the better you get.
“It was at an event in Port Elizabeth and there were these Beemer (BMW) guys in the middle of the pitch and I just decided I was going to go around these guys. And I surprised myself when I actually drifted around them and the crowd just went crazy,” Daniels said.
The event takes place on Sunday afternoon from 1pm and tickets are available at Computicket.