Situated a stone’s throw away from the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit you’ll find one of the most prominent racing outfits in Johannesburg. We pay NGK Pablo Clark Racing a visit.
Words: Wilhelm Lutjeharms
Walking into the reception are you can't help but be awe-struck by the presence of a number of race cars. These include Ferraris and some of the rarest BMWs in South Africa, like the ex-Tony Viana Group One Winfield BMW E23 745i!
NGK Pablo Clark Racing is the permanent home of this car as well as several other iconic racing machines. Walking through and into the workshop it is immediately noticeable that this is the business end of the company. Here cars are attended to, maintained or in some cases stripped and rebuilt for an upcoming race.
In the shop there is a plethora of memorabilia and much more to buy. It is here that I take seat with Will Jones and Mike Mariani. Both individuals have been involved with the business for several years and share with me more about and what they offer for clients and enthusiasts.
The company owns three historic BMW racing cars and then there are some clients’ cars that are attended to or being prepared for certain events or races.
In terms of endurance racing, NGK Pablo Clark Racing has also had some experience in recent years. During the first year of the 9-hour endurance race at Kyalami in 2019, the company ran a Ferrari 458 GT3 that successfully finished the race and won its class.
Move to the next 9-hour race that took place in February of 2022 and although NGK Pablo Clark Racing didn’t take part as a team to run a car, six of the company’s staff and technicians assisted AF Corse who came out with two Ferrari 488 GT3s to take part.
Mike explains: “It was a great experience, as we learned a lot from them. This will include how they run their pits, manage the cars and the equipment they have.” A professional setup such as this have the latest and most advanced technology which clearly left an impression on the NGK Pablo Cark Racing staff.
Dream experiences for enthusiasts
Closer to home, enthusiasts are in for a treat if they want to experience a Ferrari race car. The company owns a few Ferrari 360 Challenge race cars which they have been running and maintaining for several years. It is these cars that enthusiasts can book to experience at Zwartkops Raceway for example. Here you can either drive yourself, or you can choose to experience the car from the passenger seat – or both!
The company also hosts a few F430 Challenge cars that belong to clients, which they store and maintain. “The clients basically just need to come to the track as it is basically an arrive-and-drive for them as we do all the track support.”
Will explains the two different track clients they have: “We have the arrive-and-drive package that we do which is the maintenance and logistics. This will be the track day client. Instead of playing golf, he takes his car out and have fun with it, and it is not competitive. The other is the competitive clients who race in the local series and who actually competes. The track day client is likely to be based in Gauteng and uses the tracks closest to him or her. With the competitive clients, we will go with them to Red Star, Phakisa or Cape Town, depending on where the series goes. That is the racing side of the company, and then we have the eventing side of the company.”
“We recently acquired a South African built Nash SP2 (sports prototype 2-litre or 2-seater). Here we offer two different experiences as well. We’ll teach you how to drive and then race the car in a real race meeting. We’ll kit the driver(s) out and then they can also keep the gear once the race is done. The other option is to come to one of our track days and drive the car for a session or two to experience a real race car.”
“These cars are equipped with a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine which had some work done to it. The engine develops only 90 kW, which is enough for a beginner. We have spent hours on hour car, redesigned the gearbox system – it is really a whole new car. Also keep in mind these cars only weigh around 550 kg, which makes for a high power-to-weight ratio.”
“The livery of our car is on a Ferrari 312 PB that raced at Kyalami in the early 1970s. So, these are all our track-based experiences. Then we’ve also developed our pit-crew challenge. This is ideal for team building exercises and for 10 to 35 guests. This experience ranges from a motivational talk, driving a Formula One and GT3 simulator, an engine build and a welding challenge. It is real taste of what it is like to be in a racing team.”
With prices starting from around R10 000, enthusiasts can either opt for hot laps in a Ferrari race car such as the 360 Challenge for example, or drive the SP2 themselves. If you want to drive the Ferrari race car yourself, the price is closer to R20 000.
Whether you want to buy memorabilia, import a Ferrari race car or have the on-track experience of a lifetime, NGK Pablo Clark Racing can certainly assist.