Pretoria – Sunday saw the Clare Vale racing team host their annual charity karting day in aid of the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre. Corporate teams entered on the day included Bridgestone SA, Renault SA, RAM, Goodyear Engineered Products, Locost, Liqui-Moly and Top Class Automotive joining a Zwartkops Karting sponsored Cheetah Centre team and a The Truck Man sponsored Media Team. The day raised R30,000.00 for the centre, and hopefully the opportunity to meet Byron the Ambassador Cheetah, who was present for the prize giving, will lead to more awareness of the wonderful work that the centre does.
This is the fifth year the RAM racing team has hosted the karting day and it has become a very popular event, with many teams participating every year. There were eleven teams competing and everyone loved the kart racing! The action was close and intense and the reigning champions, Renault SA, only managed to finish third at this year’s event. Despite the tough competition, there was great team spirit as teams cheered their members on. Locost were crowned the Champions after two hours of hard fought racing, well deserved as they won in 2010 and were runners up last year. Second place was snatched by the RAM team, with Colin Preddy setting the quickest time of the day – quite an achievement as production car drivers Hennie Groenewald, Devon Robertson and Richard Pinard also took part in the event!
After Roger McCleery had presented the prizes, the real highlight of the event took place with Byron the Ambassador Cheetah saying thank you to all the participants. Byron is one of the amazing Ambassador Cheetahs at the centre and he forms part of the community outreach programme. He has visited over 100,000 children at local schools, many in under privileged areas, and plays a huge part in raising awareness about the plight of these majestic animals.
Clare on the event: ”The annual Cheetah Karting Day is one of our favourite events, and the whole RAM team is very proud to be able to assist in raising funds and awareness for the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre. Karting is a great way to use motorsport for a good cause, and it’s wonderful seeing people having fun whilst knowing that at the end of the day we can hand over a sizable amount to the centre. We’re very grateful to all the teams who competed and to all the people who assist us every year with making it a success.”
For more information on the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre please visit www.dewildt.co.za.
