EVENT: SALDANHA TOP END DRAGS 2012
1 December 2012 | Photos: RaceMasteR J & Chevan Davids| Story: RaceMasteR J | Location: Saldanha Airfield.

 

< back


With the Easter installment of this event put on the back foot due to “un-raceable” weather, the December event was long awaited with plenty of eagerness from spectators and racers alike, myself included. I didn’t end up even going to the last one as I was kept well informed of the degrading weather forecast. So I was more than looking forward to making it up with some great coverage.


Fortunately for me I stayed over in Langebaan for the weekend so waking up super early was not needed. I arrived at a fashionable 9:30am with still plenty of time before the actual racing started. I was greeted by the usual queues of cars and masses of boost hungry fans and spectators. It wasn’t a long wait to get in due to the swift work of the local traffic department directing cars in. I promptly parked as close to the action as possible, the pit area, which was filled by plenty of tyre shredding monsters. Always a grand site to behold!


Finding my way to the start line I got there just in time for the “show us what you got” parade lap which was happening and getting the crowds amped up giving them a taste of what’s to come.


It was a bit difficult to actually get some decent shots as I was very surprised by the sheer amount of photographers present. I’ve never seen it so busy, it was actually over crowded. Mostly with people I don’t know, and I’ve been in this game long enough to know almost everyone. With that done and the tyre smoke fading away the media briefing was given. I must admit I was highly annoyed after listening to it. We were told that we are not allowed to stand past the start line. How the hell am I supposed to get any decent shots then? I came all the way to Saldanha only to be told I can’t stand where I normally do. To top that off, because of the number of photographers, only 10 supposed to be on the line while the rest should stand by the spectators and alternate once in a while. Safety reasons understood, but common, maybe the amount of media passes given out should have been limited! I was fuming and very close on buggering off to Langebaan to relax on the beach for the day. I decided to gulp it down and went to stand at the finish line instead. Hence most of the shots below are from that point. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying don’t have all the media present, but there are better ways on managing us. I’ve covered a few international events already; I know what I’m talking about. Oh, while I’m on a roll about ranting, I personally DO take offence about having to wear a liquor branded lanyard media pass. I went to get my own one from my car but it didn’t work as the pass kept falling out. So I was forced to wear the booze lanyard. Especially since security was so tight, no pass meant no access. Last but not least, the events title sponsor was a liquor brand. I understand that sponsors are few and far between, but I’m sorry, alcohol and motorsport do not mix. It’s a huge contradiction and RACEWEB is completely against it for the simple reason of sending out the wrong message to road users. Alcohol and a car, never mind racing a car should never be said together let alone be seen together!


Ok, I think I’m done ranting now… here’s a pic of Armand’s 200SX going over the traps… just to change your mind set.


Ex Raceweb feature bike ridden by Achmat Israel from AIR Developments clocked the fastest speed for the day, and I assume for a very long time, a very impressive record breaking 301km/h! Well done Aggies!


The Schalk's Conversions 2J powered Corolla! That's what’s on everyone’s lips at the moment as he is the new King of Saldanha, for cars, that managed an awesome 284km/h! Over 800m's! Amazing! It's shocking to see just how standard looking this car is. It's pretty much still in full road trim! Zain (XR8 TT), you have your work cut out for you next year... my pally!


Yet another awesome speed achieved goes to Garion Slamet who clocked 296km/h! Well done!


Another great speed achieved for the day was crowd favourite SUSPECT-WP running a very respectable 267km/h. Well done!


Chevan was back at the start line getting all the finer details...


And some heated battles too...


Not forgetting all the epic burnouts.


While I was sitting all by my lonesome at the finish line... "cooling off".


But I did manage to capture some good dices too.


Like the Opel VS Ford battle...


People don't get to see the gaps over the finish line. This was a rather large one...


Some cars came past in a cloud of smoke... was it oil? I don't know? No one checked. Not good!


While others raced without helmets... come on! Don't be daft! I hope he was buckled up at least!


You win some...


You lose some...


This is the first year after many where I actually noticed such a strong tail wind as to the usual head wind. Could that be a reason why records were broken by such large gaps this year? Maybe?


Kevin's Beemer always kicks ass and takes names!


Always a box in the mix somewhere...


My hangout spot for the day... I felt like a traffic cop. All I needed was some doughnuts.


Like heroes returning from battle.


Back at the start line the CPi VS Racetec battle raged on.


Here's some in car footage from that race. Camera inside the CPi Golf on the left.


Followed by some impressive skills...


And some mega burnouts.


Tyre artwork on an airfield canvas. Not sure if this is entirely fair for the guys running in the right lane with less grip.


All in all, not such a bad day of racing after all, even with the extremely hot weather and heavy winds. Though I'm not sold on the quantity of the quality of cars/bikes. But we will just have to wait and see until the next one comes. Check out the rest of the pics below, theres plenty!

RaceMasteR J

 

< back

saldanha2012_001 saldanha2012_002 saldanha2012_003 saldanha2012_004 saldanha2012_005
saldanha2012_006 saldanha2012_007 saldanha2012_008 saldanha2012_009 saldanha2012_010
saldanha2012_011 saldanha2012_012 saldanha2012_013 saldanha2012_014 saldanha2012_015
saldanha2012_016 saldanha2012_017 saldanha2012_018 saldanha2012_019 saldanha2012_020
saldanha2012_021 saldanha2012_022 saldanha2012_023 saldanha2012_024 saldanha2012_025
saldanha2012_026 saldanha2012_027 saldanha2012_028 saldanha2012_029 saldanha2012_030
saldanha2012_031 saldanha2012_032 saldanha2012_033 saldanha2012_034 saldanha2012_035
saldanha2012_036 saldanha2012_037 saldanha2012_038 saldanha2012_039 saldanha2012_040
saldanha2012_041 saldanha2012_042 saldanha2012_043 saldanha2012_044 saldanha2012_045
saldanha2012_046 saldanha2012_047 saldanha2012_048 saldanha2012_049 saldanha2012_050
saldanha2012_051 saldanha2012_052 saldanha2012_053 saldanha2012_054 saldanha2012_055
saldanha2012_056 saldanha2012_057 saldanha2012_058 saldanha2012_059 saldanha2012_060
saldanha2012_061 saldanha2012_062 saldanha2012_063 saldanha2012_064 saldanha2012_065
saldanha2012_066 saldanha2012_067 saldanha2012_068 saldanha2012_069 saldanha2012_070
saldanha2012_071 saldanha2012_072 saldanha2012_073 saldanha2012_074 saldanha2012_075
saldanha2012_076 saldanha2012_077 saldanha2012_078 saldanha2012_079 saldanha2012_080
saldanha2012_081 saldanha2012_082 saldanha2012_083 saldanha2012_084 saldanha2012_085
saldanha2012_086 saldanha2012_087 saldanha2012_088 saldanha2012_089 saldanha2012_090
saldanha2012_091 saldanha2012_092 saldanha2012_093 saldanha2012_094 saldanha2012_095
saldanha2012_096 saldanha2012_097 saldanha2012_098 saldanha2012_099 saldanha2012_100
saldanha2012_101 saldanha2012_102 saldanha2012_103 saldanha2012_104 saldanha2012_105
saldanha2012_106 saldanha2012_107 saldanha2012_108 saldanha2012_109 saldanha2012_110
saldanha2012_111 saldanha2012_112 saldanha2012_113 saldanha2012_114 saldanha2012_115
saldanha2012_116 saldanha2012_117 saldanha2012_118 saldanha2012_119 saldanha2012_120
saldanha2012_121 saldanha2012_122 saldanha2012_123 saldanha2012_124 saldanha2012_125
saldanha2012_126 saldanha2012_127 saldanha2012_128 saldanha2012_129 saldanha2012_130
saldanha2012_131 saldanha2012_132 saldanha2012_133 saldanha2012_134 saldanha2012_135
saldanha2012_136 saldanha2012_137 saldanha2012_138 saldanha2012_139 saldanha2012_140
saldanha2012_141 saldanha2012_142 saldanha2012_143 saldanha2012_144 saldanha2012_145
saldanha2012_146 saldanha2012_147 saldanha2012_148 saldanha2012_149 saldanha2012_150
saldanha2012_151 saldanha2012_152 saldanha2012_153 saldanha2012_154 saldanha2012_155
saldanha2012_156 saldanha2012_157 saldanha2012_158 saldanha2012_159 saldanha2012_160
saldanha2012_161 saldanha2012_162 saldanha2012_163 saldanha2012_164 saldanha2012_165
saldanha2012_166 saldanha2012_167 saldanha2012_168 saldanha2012_169 saldanha2012_170
saldanha2012_171 saldanha2012_172 saldanha2012_173 saldanha2012_174 saldanha2012_175
saldanha2012_176 saldanha2012_177 saldanha2012_178 saldanha2012_179 saldanha2012_180
saldanha2012_181 saldanha2012_182 saldanha2012_183 saldanha2012_184 saldanha2012_185
saldanha2012_186 saldanha2012_187 saldanha2012_188 saldanha2012_189 saldanha2012_190
saldanha2012_191 saldanha2012_192 saldanha2012_193 saldanha2012_194 saldanha2012_195
saldanha2012_196 saldanha2012_197 saldanha2012_198 saldanha2012_199 saldanha2012_200
saldanha2012_201 saldanha2012_202 saldanha2012_203 saldanha2012_204 saldanha2012_205
saldanha2012_206 saldanha2012_207 saldanha2012_208 saldanha2012_209 saldanha2012_210
saldanha2012_211 saldanha2012_212 saldanha2012_213 saldanha2012_214 saldanha2012_215
saldanha2012_216 saldanha2012_217 saldanha2012_218 saldanha2012_219 saldanha2012_220
saldanha2012_221 saldanha2012_222 saldanha2012_223 saldanha2012_224 saldanha2012_225
saldanha2012_226 saldanha2012_227 saldanha2012_228 saldanha2012_229 saldanha2012_230
saldanha2012_231 saldanha2012_232 saldanha2012_233 saldanha2012_234 saldanha2012_235
saldanha2012_236 saldanha2012_237 saldanha2012_238 saldanha2012_239 saldanha2012_240
saldanha2012_241 saldanha2012_242 saldanha2012_243 saldanha2012_244 saldanha2012_245
saldanha2012_246 saldanha2012_247 saldanha2012_248 saldanha2012_249 saldanha2012_250
saldanha2012_251 saldanha2012_252 saldanha2012_253 saldanha2012_254 saldanha2012_255
saldanha2012_256 saldanha2012_257 saldanha2012_258 saldanha2012_259 saldanha2012_260
saldanha2012_261 saldanha2012_262 saldanha2012_263 saldanha2012_264 saldanha2012_265
saldanha2012_266 saldanha2012_267 saldanha2012_268 saldanha2012_269 saldanha2012_270
saldanha2012_271 saldanha2012_272 saldanha2012_273 saldanha2012_274 saldanha2012_275
saldanha2012_276 saldanha2012_277 saldanha2012_278 saldanha2012_279 saldanha2012_280
saldanha2012_281 saldanha2012_282 saldanha2012_283 saldanha2012_284 saldanha2012_285
saldanha2012_286 saldanha2012_287 saldanha2012_288 saldanha2012_289 saldanha2012_290
saldanha2012_291 saldanha2012_292 saldanha2012_293 saldanha2012_294 saldanha2012_295
saldanha2012_296 saldanha2012_297 saldanha2012_298 saldanha2012_299 saldanha2012_300
saldanha2012_301 saldanha2012_302 saldanha2012_303 saldanha2012_304 saldanha2012_305
saldanha2012_306 saldanha2012_307 saldanha2012_308 saldanha2012_309 saldanha2012_310
saldanha2012_311 saldanha2012_312 saldanha2012_313 saldanha2012_314 saldanha2012_315
Report feedback to info@raceweb.co.za
All content on www.raceweb.co.za is copyrighted.
Web Hosting sponsored by CIRCLE Hosting