01 Nov 2021

Hundreds of spectators converged the Francistown Spinning Arena over the weekend for intriguing car spinning.

Spectators screamed in excitement at the sound of screeching tyres and smell of burning rubber in the air as drivers took turns spinning round and round until Saturday midnight.

Some days before the event, spinners spent time in garages revamping their cars, most of which were BMW with pimped engines, suspensions and exhaust pipes.

The spinning event featured top spinners in the likes of King Joe, Dimmy Mudongo, Thuso ‘Vmud’ Mudongo, Thabang Rabana, Smarts “Mathizo” Mbaiwa, Thuto Sherriff, Kagiso Binda, Given

Stephen and Master Spinner, Saxton ‘General’ Leepile, who mesmerised spectators with their spinning skills and roaring exhausts.

General was a marvel to watch as he displayed breathtaking performance with his BMW E20.

In an interview, the General said spinning contributed positively to his wellbeing.  

The intent, he said, was to become a role model to aspiring spinners. However, he warned that though spinning was a game of passion with quick returns, it came with many challenges that required a lot of investment.

Mudongo, also Botswana Spin Master chairperson, encouraged spinners to take the sport seriously given that it required a lot of passion before expecting to make money as a way of growing and promoting spinning in Botswana.

“Spinning is an expensive sport that requires many services such as tyre exchange and engine fixing. However, he lamented that most of the Francistown spinners did not register for the extravaganza and they had to host a lot of spinners from other parts of the country. They were also expecting spinners from South Africa but could not make it as they had a breakdown on their way to Botswana.

Mudongo, a professional spinner, said his main aim was to establish a spinning team of professionals in the city of Francistown.

“Francistown has only two spinning clubs, Ghetto Spin Worriers and Ghetto Child, and I want to see more spinning clubs emerging in our city to take the motor sport to the next level,” he added.

He said Francistown had talented spinners in the likes of ‘General’ who had participated and had been the best in Southern Africa beating his counterparts most from South Africa where spinning started as a hobby.

“The General is a cut above the rest as he has participated in high top spinning events in South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Namibia,” he added.

Now recognised as a motorsport ‘spinning’ was born in South Africa townships during the late 1980s when gangsters would spin stolen cars to show off their loot. ENDS