Donna Collins

The Swakop Spinning circuit was the place to be last Saturday when a large turnout of ‘petrol heads’ let rip in their ferocious BMW’s, belching out smoke, popping tyres, revving engines and throwing their cars around the spinning pad, for a day of unbridled action - leaving nothing but shredded rubber and a wild adrenalin rush in their wake. 

Some 15 vehicles, which came from far and wide, turned up for the action - all of them BMW 3-series models, which are more about the handling than being showroom pieces, but each one is individually spray-painted and embellished with stickers. 

Driving on old tyres, which are anyway used for performance burnout’s, the souped-up and modified engines crackled and whined, as drivers skilfully swirled and manoeuvred their cars, in what has become Namibia’s biggest form of motorsport entertainment in the business.

The ‘Women Rock Spin Show’, organised by Windhoek Spin City (Joel Nambahu), welcomed a number of lady spinners for the day, all of which took no prisoners as they flung their cars wildly in circles giving the guys a run for their money in both handling and showmanship.

The lady spinners included Synovia Smith, a top entry from South Africa, Gauteng, driving a maroon and pink Novisto BMW325 multivalve car, as well as the feisty and petite Zenobia Snyders from the Okahandja Spinning & Drifting Club, who, despite being a mother of six sons, can get the crowds going with her nail-biting moves. 

Some of the hottest spinners out there are the teenagers who as young as 13 are bursting with talent. This movement of “youth power”, has raised the bar to another level of awesome, driving their Bee-Em’s like ‘demons’, whilst fired up with reckless skill and uncontainable enthusiasm. 

Mention must be made of the incredible performance put on by 15-year-old Windhoek School boy, Kyle Van Wyk, who drove the hell out of a BMWE3 box, powered by a Lexus engine. He was the first V8 spinner in Namibia and started out at the age of 13, having since then honed his skills onto the spinning pad showing no signs of slowing down. Kyle is sponsored by “daddy” who said his son grew up driving a Land Cruiser bakkie on the farm since he was eight years old, so is perfectly comfortable behind the wheel. 

In addition to these the guys who turned up with stunt partners, male and female, didn’t fail to impress either. Some took their daredevil performances to the extreme, as they climbed on bonnets, hung from passenger windows, gyrated out of sunroofs, and in general made your heart stop with their fearless antics. 

New Era’s Woema spoke to organiser Nambahu who said this was the second event he brought to the coast this year, with the next big summer event planned for Windhoek in September.  

“I am really impressed at the level of spinning style the young guys have delivered and they are improving with every show,” he said adding that Saturday’s ‘Women Rock Spin Show’ was on top form, and gave an encouraging message to other ladies to participate in the sport.

Nambahu also said that since the sport pushes the BMW brand, the continued support of Pupkewitz BMW will really be appreciated at the next spinning show in Windhoek, which is the perfect platform to highlight some of their latest models for the guys to acquaint themselves with. 

As usual Saturday’s show was well organised, with a good crowd turnout being entertained by some of the best spinning talents this side of the Zambezi.