Telecel sponsors drag racing

Telecel has become the first drag racing title sponsor in Zimbabwe, providing a boost for local drag racing, which is the country's fastest growing motor sport.

The second race in this year's DragPro racing series, which has been renamed the Telecel 2013 DragPro Drag Racing Series, takes place this Sunday (April 28) at Donnybrook.

Drag racing involves two cars or two motorbikes racing against each other over a measured distance, with spectators watching from both sides of the track.

The winner of the race is the driver of the first vehicle to cross the finish line. The loser drops out, while the winner takes on a new challenger until an overall winner eventually emerges. The races on Sunday take place over 400 metres.

In each annual series there are six races. The first one this year took place last month at Donnybrook.

Drag racing, which originated in the United States, has become popular in South Africa and is gaining increasing popularity in Zimbabwe.

Explaining the reason behind Telecel's decision to sponsor drag racing, Telecel public relations and corporate social responsibility manager Francis Chimanda said the increasing popularity of the sport had caught its attention.

"It seemed a sport worth supporting, given the increasingly large number of people participating in it and watching it. The final event in the series last year reportedly attracted 4 000 spectators and 67 participants.

"We are keen to promote greater participation in sports that in the past have had a minority following.

"Part of the reason historically why the sport was introduced was to encourage speed fanatics to take their speed off the roads and highways and onto the race course.

"I'm sure we have our own speed fanatics in Zimbabwe who would do well to use drag racing at Donnybrook as a means of enjoying the thrill that speed brings with it without putting the lives of others at risk by racing along our highways," he said.

 Drag racing is open to anyone. Entrants have the choice of bringing their own cars or hiring one at the race track. Every participant is required to wear a helmet when racing.

Mr Chimanda said speed was something that DragPro racing and Telecel had in common, given the speed of Telecel's broadband service.

"Speed thrills us too. When we think of the speed on the race track, we are reminded – and we hope our customers will be reminded too – of the speed of our data services, for which Telecel has become well known," Mr Chimanda said.

Telecel's high speed broadband connection enables subscribers to surf the internet from anywhere from their mobile phone or from a laptop or other computer using a plug-in modem known as a dongle.

Recently, to encourage greater use of its data services, Telecel launched a new promotion, Broadband Plus, which not only reduced data bundle prices but, through 100 percent bonus data, gives subscribers access to double the amount of data they pay for when they buy data bundles worth $10 or more..

Telecel also reduced the price of its dongle to only $30, inclusive of 300 Mb of data and 30 text messages.

"With Telecel Broadband you will be amazed at the speed at which information is accessed. You will be even more amazed at how relatively little it costs, particularly with our current, Broadband Plus promotion," Mr Chimanda said.

"Speed is something that Telecel's broadband service and drag racing have in common," he added.