Lemon racing on a budget returns as a championship

Lemon racing on a budget returns as a championship

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The idea of organised racing is a dream, secured mostly by the elites. Cars, engineers, and endless equipment breakage all add to a monumental price tag. At the lowest level, an entry-level Polo Cup car will set you back R120k just for the car, and even professional racing sims start at a similar price. So what about us, the average Joes with enough enthusiasm but virtually zero racing budget? Well, lemon racing is the Kyalami 9-Hour of the working man, where practically anything can be made into a track toy on a shoestring budget, often leading to the most outrageous Frankenstein cars.

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For the past five years, there has been a race devoted to the passionate rather than the wealthy, and it is called the iLamuna Series. Although they have five years under their belt in endurance events, for the first time, this beater race will become a championship with three races scheduled on the annual calendar.

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iLamuna is an endurance race for a specific type of car known as a lemon, and it consists of a 9- or 24-hour race in a mangled version of any standard road car, modified with only the essentials and a touch of creativity. But most importantly, it costs no more than R55k in total. The product of this simplistic race means that teams are groups of friends or family members, so the banter and atmosphere are unlike anything else. Nobody is special in the confines of a R55k lemon, and that’s the point. Fun over politics is the goal, and it's drawn in quite a sizable pool of competitors with some wild and wacky rides.

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Over the past few years, the iLamuna project has been the Lemons racing series for South Africa, and teams compete to be the victor of the day. But now the operation has called for an upgrade, and the iLamuna race will become a series. Three races will make up the championship series. The Mischief Garage 9-Hour at Killarney Raceway from the 25th to the 26th of April, the VMS Paint 9-Hour at Redstar Raceway from the 23rd to the 24th of May, and lastly, the Renew-it Truck iLamuna 24-Hour at Redstar Raceway from the 1st to the 2nd of November will make up this year's excitement, and the drivers gunning for the title will need to perform well in each race.

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The series will run with a point-scoring system, and in order to score well, you’ll need to do some travelling. The points are accumulated in each of the three events and awarded to the top ten finishers in each class. So, in case consistency wasn’t hard enough in a Lemons 24-Hour race, you’ll need to keep it up through two 9-Hour races too, and it's sure to bring with it a large amount of drama.

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Finally, garage engineers and enthusiasts can fulfil their dreams by participating in a racing series. Although the metal being abused would probably pass a roadworthy test, it's encouraging to see a growing interest in racing at the grassroots level. But most importantly, it is a space where people can share and interact through a shared passion. Building a strong and unique sense of camaraderie that is not found in any other racing event in the country.

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If you and your friends have been bitten by the racing bug, see how you can get involved here on the iLamuna Facebook page.

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