Pretoria – Clare Vale Racing Team’s 2015 annual Kiehl’s Charity Cheetah Karting Day took place on Sunday, raising a record amount of R54,000.00 for the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre. The event took place at the Zwartkops Kart track near Pretoria and saw 12 teams take to the track. Four teams from Kiehl’s SA (named Dr Morse, Mr Bones, Peach Tree Hill and Spirit of Adventure), three teams from Bridgestone SA, two from Jaguar Land Rover SA, and teams from RAM Automotive, Snake Pit Racing and INEX Racing SA took part. Special thanks also to RunRideDive who took pictures of the event, RedBull who kept the competitors hydrated and Playstation who were on hand with their mobile units keeping everyone racing!
Members of the Kiehl’s teams included celebrity and sports personalities such as singer Kurt Darren, retired footballer Mark Fish, SA Gymnast River Makings, 702’s Aki Anastasiou, actors David Rees and Cindy Swanepoel. Also in the mix were motorsport personalities such as V8 Racing Champion Franco di Matteo, and Ignition presenters Rikki Brest and Chad Luckhoff, adding plenty of glamour and excitement to the grid!
As always, the racing was quick and close, with lots of daring passes and close battles throughout the 2 hours of the race. There was drama aplenty between driver changes, punctures and chains breaking on the karts, with the lead changing several times and fancied contenders moving unceremoniously down the order.
At the flag, first time entrants INEX Racing SA held on for the win, with Team Snake Pit Racing close behind and Bridgestone SA taking the last step of the podium. It was a great day’s racing, with some impressive lap times on the time sheets – INEX Racing SA set the best time of 1.01.4. Reigning Champions RAM Automotive came home in 4th after an unfortunate puncture, but vowed to return next year to reclaim the prized bronze cheetah floating trophy. The winning team managed to complete 107 laps over two hours!
Yeats, the Ambassador Cheetah, was on hand to thank competitors personally and to remind them what the day was all about. The Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre works closely with local communities to safeguard the future of our wildlife, not only cheetahs but also wild dogs, vultures and other animals. They also have an educational program that visits schools and facilitates camps for children, to ensure that future generations share our passion and concern for wildlife.
Clare Vale on the event: ”This is the most important event of the year for our racing team. This was the seventh anniversary of our Annual Cheetah Karting day, and thanks to each and every team that supported us, we were able to once again exceed the previous year’s amount raised. Additional thanks must go to G&H Transport, who were unable to attend but gave a generous donation to add to the day’s proceeds. I love this event, as it enables us to introduce many new people to motorsport in a very accessible way, and at the same time use motorsport to give back and support a really worthy cause. We’re already planning ahead for 2016!”
Kiehl’s Brand Manager Dani Bexiga on the event,” What a privilege it is to be a part of this great initiative! Now the 2nd year Kiehl’s has been involved. This event represents exactly what Kiehl’s stands for- being able to give back and of course having fun while doing it. I must say the racing bug has certainly bitten the Kiehl’s team. Watch out Clare we might meet you on the circuit one day!”