Combine tire smoke, engines on the edge of exploding and drivers who actually get out of the car while its drifting to dance. That’s a description of the sport of Spinning that has emerged from the underground in South Africa into the mainstream.
Born in the townships of Soweto, South Africa, as a ritual to honor fallen gangsters during the Apartheid era, the sport is now among the biggest in Africa. Called the “Motorsport of the People” it’s a mix of drifting and personal expression.
Spinning involves drivers who lock their car into a spin then climb from the car while it’s moving to perform moves on the bodywork or even hang upside down from the window with their head just inches above the ground. In 2012, Motorsport South Africa recognized an event in Soweto in which the spinners received “Official Motorsport Licenses for Spinning.” It’s now become an organized sport called “iMoto.”
This is not a high-tech sport with newer cars. In fact, although all makes and models can be used, competitors prefer classic BMW 325is.
“In pure, simplistic classification terms, Spinning is the art of controlling chaos while creating entertainment, just like theatre, while drifting is a motorsport governed by a strict set of rules and formats,” says Sporting Director of Red Bull Shay’ iMoto Vic Pardal.
“It’s pretty much a traveling circus,” Pardal added. “Where we, as the paid performers, travel from town to town and entertain the masses.”
The “Super Bowl” of spinning, the 2024 Red Bull Shay’ iMoto was held Saturday in Cape Town, South Africa. The event brought together the top spinners in the country for a show in front of 4,000 fans. Qualifying was held among 16 drivers on Friday and culminated in the finals on Saturday which saw Chadwin ‘Boksie’ Hadjie emerge with the victory defeating two-time defending champion Samkeliso ‘Sam Sam’ Thubane.
“This is the most amazing feeling,” Hadjie, who finished runner-up in 2021, said after the win. “I’ve been fighting hard over the past few years and finally the win has come.”
Not all was smooth sailing for the winner.
Boksie celebrates his win at the Red bull Shay’ iMoto in Cape Town, South Africa, on March 16, 2024.
“On the first day out, we broke a steering rack,” Hadjie said. “The team fixed that but we didn’t have any test runs, so I was happy to qualify for the top eight. Then on Saturday, we broke our wheel studs, fortunately, my pit crew fixed that, along with a few other issues, and we could push through!”
Spinning isn’t just about the competition. There is a strong camaraderie among the drivers. For them it’s not just a sport, it’s a culture with deep roots in their country.
“It’s a culture and a movement,” Pardal said. “And yet, it’s the only motorsport that covers all races and faces. Traditionally, it was used as a celebration of life at people’s funerals and for certain other celebrations and purposes which were beyond the law. As long as there have been rear-wheel-drive cars in South Africa, people have been spinning. Still, spinning is very different today to what someone’s uncle or grandfather was doing years ago in recreation center parking lots.”
Gallery: Spinning – The Motorsport of the People
I have been around and written about the sport of NASCAR for over three decades and previously worked fulltime for the Sporting News and Scripps-Howard News Service. I am also a contributor to two Chicken Soup for the Soul books including the NASCAR edition, published in 2010 and the author of “The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers’ Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing.” I am a multiple National Motorsports Press Association award winner. Early in life I spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community serving in support of Operation Just Cause, Desert Shield/Storm and ended my military career in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
