Drag racing returns to Bulawayo at the Breedon Everard Race Way this afternoon with more 20 drivers expected to take part in the competition.
The public drag races are being hosted by the Bulawayo Motoring Club (BMC) and registration (practice runs) start before the qualifying and final eliminations later on in the day. BMC spokesperson Leonora Young yesterday said all was set for the motoring tournament, which comes after the successful Three-Hour Endurance Race held in December last year.
“The races are on and they start at 12 noon. We are expecting 20 automobiles at the race and 10 motorbikes with some drivers coming from Harare. Everything is set for the competition,” Young said. According to Wikipedia, drag racing is a competition in which specially prepared vehicles or motorcycles compete, two at a time, to be the first to cross a set finish line, from a standing start, in a straight line, over a measured distance, most commonly a 402,3m straight track. The race track, known as a dragstrip, usually uses an electronic timing system to determine the winner.
Before each race (also known as a pass), each driver is allowed to perform a burnout, which heats the driving tyres and lays rubber down at the beginning of the track, improving traction. Each driver then lines up (or stages) at the starting line.
Races are started electronically by a system known as a Christmas tree. The Christmas tree consists of a column of lights for each driver/lane.
In each column, the top two lights are small amber lights connected to light beams on the track, which when broken by the vehicle’s front tyre(s) indicate that the driver has pre-staged (approximately 7 inches (180mm) from the starting line) and then staged (at the starting line).
The winner is the first vehicle to cross the finish line (and therefore the driver with the lowest total reaction time and elapsed time).
The elapsed time is a measure of performance only; it does not necessarily determine the winner. Because elapsed time does not include reaction time and each lane is timed individually, a car with a slower elapsed time can actually win if that driver’s holeshot advantage exceeds the elapsed time difference. This is known as a holeshot win.
