Pretoria – Tuesday the 9th of August saw Motorsport South Africa's Women in Motorsport (WIM) Panel host their annual Women's Day event at the Zwartkops raceway in Pretoria.

The day was highly successful and helped to raise awareness about women in motorsport and motorsport in general.

The turnout was excellent and there were queues for all the driving and riding experiences on offer. The event would not have been possible without support from companies such as Renault, Subaru, Toyota, Audi and Lexus, all of whom brought cars with instructors to the circuit. Honda excelled with cars and bikes on track, and some awesome exotics in the form of a Backdraft Cobra, a Rossion from Hamptons and a Porsche from Adrenalin Drive added to the excitement.

Adrenaline levels were further boosted by the presence of drift cars from the XS Drift Alliance, who thrilled the ladies with their sideways skills. Renault Centurion had instructors and cars on the skidpan, helping women hone their driving expertise, and many ladies tried out karting and trial bike riding for the first time. The Think Bike marshals also did a great job of training first time riders on bikes kindly supplied by Honda.

Further entertainment was provided by Playstation, who had a full car simulator and consoles on hand, an incredible display of skill by multiple champion Brian Capper on his bike, and impressive displays from DNA Motorcycles, Triumph and Aprilia. There was also a full on Enduro event, attended by some of our top National riders.

Clare Vale, President of WIM, on the event: "Our Zwartkops day is our flagship event, where we try to cover as many facets of motorsport as possible and encourage women to try things out for themselves. The event helps to raise awareness about the number of female motorsport competitors we have, who are competing against the men and doing very well.

The day is intended to be a fun filled event where ladies can enjoy themselves without feeling any pressure to perform, and judging by the number of happy and excited faces at Zwartkops I think we achieved these objectives! The WIM Panel does not have a main sponsor at present, and the day would not have been possible without assistance from all our partners on the day. We are extremely grateful for their support."

For more information regarding Women in Motorsport, please visit the MSA website: www.motorsport.co.za.