Due mainly to the inspired vision of the KwaDukuza Municipality, Edusport Travel and their event partners the Ilembe Chamber of Commerce together with the amazing support of title sponsors Ballito Auto SMD ably assisted by accommodation partners Fairmont Zimbali Resorts, were able to ensure that the inaugural event was seen as a massive success when it was held on Saturday, 14 and Sunday, 15 September.

“The event was a success, and now we must decide if we will bring it back next year. The responses we have had on Facebook and from people taking part in the event have been overwhelmingly positive and they have indicated they would like come back next year,” said Ed Hill a consultant to Edusport.

Ballito Street Heroes took place at the Laguna Seca precinct in Ballito, and saw close to 5000 petrol heads visiting the car lovers’ paradise over the weekend.

From a Koenigsegg CCXR, a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta and 458 Spider, Lamborghini Gallardos, an Aston Martin DBS, and Michael Schumacher’s Benetton Formula One car from the 1990s, all the bases were covered when it came to offering attending fans the most desirable cars in the world. There was also other action in the FMX arena where the Ride Authority riders proved to be a big hit with the crowds.

“It was just constant action. The KZN Drifters were outstanding, the Formula Renaults were a crowd pleaser, and Brain Capper on his supermotard was incredibly quick on a track not designed for motorbikes,” said Hill of the action, which took place on the 1.5km time trial race track.

“We have had interest from Cape Town, the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal, Port Elizabeth as well as other cities in South Africa to host this event. The whole idea is to create a national series.”

The title of "Ultimate Street Hero" went to racer Dezzi Gutzeit and his Nissan Skyline GTR. Gutzeit clocked a 50.08 second lap in the final and was closely followed by his son, Jade, in second place in his own Skyline.

“When the battle with Jade and I began in the final, I thought he would not be able to put down the times, but man he was fast,” Gutzeit Senior said. “He was slightly ahead and I had to drive my car like I had stolen it. I nearly came unstuck on a corner but managed to hold out and power home down the straight. I was very happy with my time."

“The event was also extremely well organised, from the food and hospitality to the marshals.”

Besides the racing action for the fans, the event had a positive effect on the Ballito area itself, with close to 100 jobs created in the hospitality area, the cleaning teams and security sector for the event.

Hill continued: “Our budget for the event exceeded R2-million, and the majority of that was spent with local suppliers who provided services. We also asked our appointed suppliers to use local people from the Shaka’s Head area, some of whom were trained to help construct the race track and can be employed again in the future.”

Prior to the start of the Ballito Street Heroes event, a cocktail party was held by the organisers to pay tribute to those who made the event possible.

“We just wanted to say thank you to our partners the KwaDukuza municipality and the iLembe Chamber of Commerce, as well as our title sponsors Ballito Auto SMD and accommodation sponsors Fairmont Zimbali,” added Hill.

“Besides launching the event, we also revealed the Ithemba Labasha Community Centre as our corporate social initiative partners. We selected them because their US funding had been stopped, and they were close to the actual track at the Laguna Seca precinct.”

Over R40 000 was raised for the charity at the cocktail party, through pledges and the auctioning of sports memorabilia donated by Edusport. The funds will now be put into a trust fund for the community centre.

The draw for the grand prize of the F1 Malaysian Grand Prix travel package donated by Edusport Travel will take place at the Ballito Auto SMD group showroom on Friday, 20 September at 13:00.

For more information on Edusport Travel, visit www.edusport.co.za. For the full results from the Ballito Street Heroes event, visit www.streetheroes.co.za. Alternatively, follow @streetheroessa on Twitter or visit the Facebook page.

Ballito Street Heroes is an Edusport event.