Veezed Alignment Center, a Bulawayo-based automotive service provider that has been instrumental in promoting car spinning and drifting in the city, is taking its commitment to the sport to the next level by establishing an academy dedicated to training aspiring drivers.
The academy aims to equip participants with the necessary skills and techniques to excel in car spinning and drifting, enabling them to participate in professional competitions and showcases.
As part of popularising the sport, an event has been planned for December 16, 2023, with local and regional spinners set to showcase their amazing skills.
The event will be held on the outskirts of Bulawayo, along Khami Road close to the Khami Prison.
In an interview with CITE, owner of Veezed, Zakhele Mabaso, who is based in the UK said this will not be a one-time event but it will be held more frequently.
He said there are plans to open a spinning and drifting academy that will teach drivers how to do the sport professionally.
“This event was not an overnight dream. It is something that we have been nurturing over the years and we have decided to put it into motion. The idea was brought about by my brother, Mzoe, who is the lead spinner. He spent a lot of time in South Africa and that is where he learnt how to spin,” Mabaso explained.
“When he went back to Zimbabwe, he asked me to buy a BMW e30 which he would modify to suit spinning. I sent him the car and he would send me videos whenever they would do street spinning. We realized it was fascinating and attracting a lot of people. Sometimes they would barricade that road by (Veezed) workshop and spin there.”
Mabaso said on one of his visits back home, in 2021, they went to CSC and negotiated to use an open space that they had which had a concrete “stage”.
“CSC agreed to let us use their space. We called in drivers from other cities, Harare, Masvingo, Gweru, and Mutare and they showed up. All the tickets we had were sold out and we had to print some more. The response from the people was so overwhelming. The event was a great success and everyone involved in it had a good payday because it had brought in so much revenue.”
Mabaso said following the success of that event, he was inspired to get a bigger space and build an arena specifically dedicated to spinning.
“We realized that people love this sport and they do not get enough of it. We want to make sure that we give them what they want. There is a potential for having a huge club for spinning and drifting if the resources and platforms are availed.”
Mabaso gave insights into the vision that he has for the motorsport industry:
Spinning and Drifting Academy:
We want Motorsport to be a huge sport in the sector. We will have an academy where drivers can come through and learn how to drift professionally. We have realized that on some occasions, especially on New Year’s Eve, people love to spin their cars. But some do it in spaces that are not conducive and they endanger people’s lives. Also, they will be using regular vehicles, which are not built for that particular sport. We want people to come to the academy to learn the do’s and don’ts of spinning. They must learn the safety precautions. We want people to fall in love with the sport and appreciate that anyone, with the appropriate training, can do spinning and drifting.
One Stop Sports Arena
The land we got for our arena is very huge, about 10 hectares and so we want to put it to good use. We will build a multi-purpose sporting arena, with tennis courts, and basketball courts among others. So far we have only managed to fence around a smaller portion to prepare for the upcoming event but with time we will build some more. When there are no spinning events, the community can utilize the facility. Even for bigger sporting events it can be booked out.
Growing the Motorsport industry we want Motorsport to be big not only in Bulawayo but in Zimbabwe as a whole. We have some drivers that we collaborate with from Harare, we spoke about growing the sport and they successfully engaged the Ministry of Sport on the matter. We are positive that with the support of the ministry, it will be recognizable and it will attract more people. There are a lot of competitions that we can participate in at the national level regionally and internationally. There are competitions for women in Motorsport but we do not have enough of them nationally. If we pull through with this, we can address it.
Business opportunities
There will be food stalls. Because the venue is out of town, we do not want people to get stuck. So food companies can either subscribe to the stalls or can be booking spaces when there are events. They will be able to make money from there.
Lodges are likely to benefit when the arena hosts big events. The venue is close to Khami Ruins and Khami Lodge so when there are huge sporting events they can book places to put up there. And they can visit the Khami ruins which will promote tourism.
The arena will create employment, especially for young people. There will be various departments that will need part-time and full-time job opportunities. Most of our young people are wasting away their lives by substance abuse because they are idle but if they have something to do they will desist from such destructive behaviors.
