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Collin Matiza Sports Editor
TWO-TIME African motor rally champion, the legendary Jamie Whyte has turned his hand to sponsoring motor racing in Zimbabwe and on May 8 he will bankroll the Jialing Grand Prix at Donnybrook Raceway in Harare.

Whyte won back-to-back African motor rallying titles in 2009 and 2010, assisted by co-driver Phil “Archie” Archenoul, but they have both since quit the sport and the former is now one of the organisers of main circuit racing at Donnybrook.

And as a way of giving back to the local motorsport community, who have supported him for more than three decades, Whyte has decided to sponsor his first major motor racing event at Donnybrook on May 8 when the popular motor racing venue stages the Jialing Grand Prix, where all the country’s top main circuit racing drivers are expected to take part in this one-day event.

Whyte, who is now well into his 50s, is one of the motorsport pioneers in Zimbabwe, having started as a motocross rider in the early 1980s before he “graduated” to become a motor rally driver.

As a motocross rider, Whyte won numerous national championship titles at Donnybrook, the stage which he also shared with one of his younger brothers Shaun, who was once a South African national Superbikes champion.

The turn of the new millennium saw Jamie Whyte trading his bike for a motor rally vehicle and this saw him becoming one of the most revered drivers in Africa after he won back-to-back African Rally Championship titles in 2009 and 2010 in his Subaru. The dwindling in the numbers of motor rally cars and competitors in Zimbabwe saw Jamie Whyte quitting the sport a few years ago but he has now bounced back as one of the sponsors of main circuit racing in this country.

His son, Rowan, is also into motor racing and he will be among a host of the country’s top drivers who will be in action during the Jialing Grand Prix on May 8.

Meanwhile, the 2016 Telecel Drag Racing season got off to a false start on Saturday after the first round of the four-round series was cancelled due to unsuitable conditions at Donnybrook.

The Donnybrook track that was recently resurfaced was deemed unsafe to race on as it is too slippery and that left the organisers of drag racing in this country, the Sables Dragpro Club, with no choice but to cancel Saturday’s event at the last minute, leaving scores of competitors and fans a disappointed lot.

But on Tuesday, the Sables Dragpro Club apologised for the last-minute cancellation of Saturday’s race meeting.

“On behalf of the Sables Dragpro Committee and organisers of Track Racing and Drag Racing, we would like to inform our public, fans, competitors and sponsors that we are working continuously and closely with the resurfacing company to get the track into the best and safest conditions for racing.

“We will keep you posted on developments and race dates as and when we have definite answers. Please keep following us on Facebook and share our messages to ensure that you do not miss out when the track will be ready for the next race meeting.

“We would like to take this opportunity to THANK YOU ALL — Our fans, our public, our competitors, our sponsors for your support and understanding in this matter,” the Sables Dragpro Club wrote on their Facebook wall yesterday.

Temba Mazvimbakupa of the Zimbabwe Motorsport Federation added: “Good decision to cancel the race, competitor safety cannot be compromised, no. However, it is our hope that the issue of the slippery tarmac will be sorted out as soon as possible.”