A1GP drivers experience South Africa
20 February 2009
The A1GP World Cup of Motorsport gave its drivers the opportunity to take in some South African culture, including a guided tour of Soweto township, ahead of this weekend's A1GP action at Kyalami.
Soweto, situated to the south-west of Johannesburg, is home to approximately two-million people.
The area has a real entrepreneurial spirit, with many locals choosing to start their own businesses in their back yards in order to look after themselves and their families. The streets are lined with colourful displays of items on sale, from carved animals and beaded jewellery to clothes and pottery.
Apartheid Museum
The first stop for the A1GP drivers was the Apartheid Museum, where they learned more about the system of legal racial segregation enforced by the country's National Party government between 1948 and 1994.
They then moved on to visit the site of the Soccer City Stadium, being built in preparation for the 2010 Fifa World Cup. The stadium is designed to mirror a traditional African Zulu bracelet – similar to the ones the drivers were presented with by their tour guide, Jimmy, a Soweto local who has been leading guided tours for 35 years.
Next on the list was a visit to the Hector Pieterson Monument, which features the iconic image of 12-year-old Hector being carried by his friend to the place where he died on June 16, 1976 - the day Soweto came forefully to the world's attention.
The A1GP drivers paid their respects to Hector and the many others who died during the 1976 Soweto Uprising by placing a white rose each at the site.
Outraced by kids
The A1GP drivers continued down the famous Vilakazi Street, the only street in the world with the homes of two recipients of the Nobel Prize - Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
The final stop was the Don Mattera School for children with special education needs. The children welcomed the drivers with a South African song, after which the school's principal, Mr Bachelor, presented each driver with a "message in a bottle" made for them by the children.
The drivers then joined in some traditional African games, included racing colourfully painted tyres and wire cars in the playground. Current championship leader Adam Carroll and South African driver Adrian Zaugg were among those who found themselves out-raced by the kids.
'Something special'
"It's very interesting for everyone today, especially the experience with the kids," Zaugg said. "They all looked pretty happy about us being there, and it was exciting to see all the games they play here.
"It's also been something special for me; I have never spent much time in Johannesburg, so some of the sites were new to me."
A1 Team Netherlands' Jeroen Bleekemolen said: "It was good to see a bit of Johannesburg and hear some of the history of South Africa.
"It was difficult racing against the children at the school as they are really good, but they have had a bit more training," Bleekemolen quipped. "We grew up with Playstations, and they grow up doing this - but they have as much fun as we did, which is great to see."
'Amazing reception'
A1 Team Brazil's Felipe Guimarães said it was "very special" to meet the children, "who gave us such an amazing reception.
"I have been thinking a lot today about what a good life we have, and visiting these children makes you think about the life you have. I was able to make some comparisons with Brazil, as it is a similar climate, and we also have the kind of shanty towns that we visited, so that was interesting to see."
Joining Guimarães, Bleekemolen, Zaugg and Carroll on the tour were: John Martin (Australia), James Winslow (Great Britain), Adam Carroll (Ireland), Narain Karthikeyan and Parthiva Sureshwaren (India), Fairuz Fauzy and Aaron Lim (Malaysia), Dennis Retera (The Netherlands), Earl Bamber and Chris van der Drift (New Zealand), Filipe Albuquerque (Portugal), and Neel Jani and Alexandre Imperatori (Switzerland).
Outraced by a cheetah
As part of the build-up to the weekend's racing, several A1GP drivers also took time out to visit the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve near Johannesburg. The reserve is a privately owned, non-subsidised game reserve situated in the "Cradle of Humankind", a World Heritage site about 40 kilometres north-west of Johannesburg.
The venue played host to the week's first A1GP "sprint race" - against a cheetah.
Adrian Zaugg and Filipe Albuquerque were both given their starting orders against the world's fastest land mammal, an animal that can accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in about three seconds before hitting a top speed of 120km/h. Both drivers were annihilated.
"Racing a cheetah was something I never thought I would do," said Portugal's Albuquerque, catching his breath. "I was keeping up the first few metres, but when he got running there was no chance!"
Zaugg had his excuses ready: "I took the turn a little too sharply and fell, so that's why the cheetah beat me!"
Cheetahs were one of many animals that the A1GP drivers got to experience at the reserve. The drivers played with three-month old baby tiger cubs and baby lions, including one of only 40 white lions known to be in existence.
The reserve, which last year boasted the birth of 32 rare Cape hunting dogs, three cheetah cubs and a rhino, has just purchased two Bengal tigers, which will be incorporated in a breeding programme.
Source: A1GP.com
