Media representatives from various publications and outlets gathered in the parking lot of Carnival City this Wednesday, August 23, for the official media launch of Gymkhana GRiD in South Africa. Visitors were greeted by a host of high powered drift machines, Monster Energy entertainment and the lovely ladies from both AutoCircus powered by AutoTrader, and Monster Energy.
Established in 2010, Gymkhana GRiD is the brainchild of Monster Energy’s Ken Block, a driver best know for his outlandish and exciting driving through shipping yards, aqueducts, abandoned air fields and a host of other iconic locations. With millions of YouTube views on his videos, and a host of parodies, Ken realized that there is a market hungry for this type of entertainment and one that would like to see it in person. His creation sees AWD and RWD drivers compete, head-to-head in a stadium-style event so that all the action is visible, no matter where you’re seated. With stops in countries across the globe, Gymkhana GRiD is eventually making its way to South Africa for the final round for 2017.
November 18 and 19 have been set aside for driver from across the world to make their way to South Africa to compete for top honours at Carnival City. Backed by Monster Energy and including an aftersales exhibition and festival called AutoCircus powered by AutoTrader, the final round promises to be an action packed event with the likes of Luke Woodham from the UK, Riku Tahko from Finland, Petter Solberg and Andreas Bakkerud from Norway, and naturally American Ken Block himself, competing.
The final round of Gymkhana GRiD will see competitors drift, power slide and navigate a gymkhana-style course to see who can compete the tasks in the quickest time. It requires speed, precision, pin-point precision and of course, a healthy helping of courage, to rise to the top and defeat your opponents. High horsepower, big engines, turbos and tyre smoke is the order of the day. It’s a festival of speed unlike anything else that has been seen on our shores before.
Monster Energy athletes, Luke Woodham and Riku Tahko, are both looking forward to going up against our local drivers and seeing what the skill level is like locally. They will be going against the likes of Monster Energy teammate Jason Webb, Paolo Gouveia and Dez Gutzeit from South Africa.
In conjunction with Gymkhana GRiD, the AutoCircus powered by AutoTrader – the exhibition and festival village – will add variety and engagement for attendees of the event. “The exhibition and festival will make the event a day out for the entire family. We’re looking forward to putting on a good show and creating compelling content for our online buyers” said AutoTrader CEO George Mienie. The exhibition offers local companies in the retail and aftermarket sector an opportunity to showcase their wares. A variety of automotive brands will be set up in the vicinity, allowing spectators to peruse all they have on offer and providing additional entertainment for like-minded motoring enthusiasts.
