By: Gadeeja Abbas
Cape Town Going for a spin around Killarney race track with DJ Ready D in his modified street racer would be any young petrolhead’s dream way to spend the day.
But Ready D’s youth development programme event isn’t just about the thrill of speed; he also educates high school pupils about the dangers of illegal drag racing.
The Great Cape Ambassadors Project aims to bring about a “total mind shift” while introducing the youth to a controlled environment.
Ready D wowed 20 pupils from Athlone, Mitchells Plain and Wynberg on Wednesday with his drifting and racing skills on the track. But the DJ and his committed volunteer race car drivers stressed the importance of safety.
“Unfortunately, there are a lot of people losing their lives to illegal street racing,” he said. “With this project we want to give young people the opportunity to be more informed about speed, about cars and what they endure and why we need to keep all forms of the motorsport in a safe and controlled environment.
“I put my car into a wall at Turn 3 at 140km/h on the track but if that had happened on the street, I would have probably lost my life and could have cost other people their lives. When we’re on the track we can walk away from it most of the time.”
CHALLENGES
He took the teens for a spin around the track in his modified Nissan 200SX, explaining the safety procedures to follow when racing.
“We work with youth that are faced with many challenges such as gang violence and drugs,” he said. “Many of these young people do not get to venture or interact with people outside of the community because of the situations they encounter. The initiative also connects youth from different backgrounds.”
Kayler Pamplin, a Grade 12 pupil from Alexander Sinton High School, said she was excited to be part of the project and to experience race car driving first hand.
“It’s better to have fun here, where it’s secured than have it on the roads because people can die. I was here in Grade 10. Most of us like fast cars and love speed,” she said.
Athlone High School Grade 11 pupil Lynton Jacobs said: “Ready D told us about people who lost their lives because of racing. There was a boy at our school who broke his neck in a motorbike accident last year, and he died.”
Cape Argus