Bright future beckons for Njumbuxa

The future is certainly looking bright for Gqberha racing driver Xolela Njumbuxa after his brilliant performance in the GT Supercup 7-Hour Endurance race at the iconic East London Grand Prix circuit on Saturday, 19 August.

Rising star Xolela Njumbuxa
Rising star Xolela Njumbuxa
Image by Ashley Gardiner

Driving a powerful Backdraft Cobra for Team Qhubani along with teammates Fikile Holomisa and Bapi Rubuluza, it was Njumbuxa that did the donkey work after he had set the quickest times out of the three. Holomisa started the race for the team, settled into his rhythm for the first hour, and had a relatively smooth run up to the first of their 6 pit stops. Rubuluza was next up, and he spent the next hour holding position in the car before handing over to the young flyer Njumbuxa for an extended stint of almost 2 hours with a full tank of fuel and nursing a slight vibration under braking.

After his impressive stint behind the wheel, it was Holomisa and Rubuluza’s turn for another hour-long term each before handing back to Njumbuxa for another extended session where he brought the car home in a brilliant second place overall as well as claiming victory in the highly competitive GT3 class. The quietly spoken Njumbuxa had the following to say, “it has been quite a while since I had driven a Backdraft Cobra, so myself and my mentor from my home team, Daniel Bright of Bright’s Motorsport, spent a full day working on my driving style in preparation for this event. It’s a big change from the front wheel drive cars that I normally race, so it really paid off as we were able, along with the team, to bring the car from thirteenth on the grid to a podium finish and class win. A huge vote of thanks must go to the Qhubani Team and our sponsor, Ndala ICT Solutions, for inviting me back to share the car for this event. I’m really looking forward to our next drive together, which will be at the South African Endurance Series 9 Hour Race at Killarney later this year.”

Xolela immediately devoted his race win to Lucille Elliot who headed up the Nelson Mandela Bay Motorsport Development Program, and sadly passed away recently. This was his first outing since her death and he had the following to say “this was for Lucille, the person who gave me my break into motorsport, and without her continuous motivation and support, none of this would be possible, so I dedicate this great achievement to the memory of Lucille Elliot.

Algoa Motorsport Club will be hosting a Lucille Elliot Memorial Race Day on the 16th September at Aldo Scribante Raceway where Njumbuxa will be in action in the endurance class in an Opel Astra.

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