Botswana’s racing hero Atang Makgekgenene says that he never stole his father’s car to satisfy his love and passion for driving as a young man.
“There had always been a place to be sent to using the family car so there was really no need to,” he said.
From such a driving background, Makgekgenene has proved to be the leading race driver in the country, after his recent win in the Class A category of the Toyota 1 000 Desert Race. He won despite an injury from an accident in a race in Piertermaritzburg, South Africa. His co-driver Mike Stangl died in the same accident. Makgekgenene’s childhood friend Kgosi Tawana II says passion and love for the sport are what have made Makgekgenene a winner. Tawana is also a car race enthusiast. He said that when they were young boys at Northside Primary School in Gaborone, during the mid 1970s and early 1980s they used to go and watch the Trans Kalahari Desert Race – as the Toyota Desert Race was previously called.
“He loves cars and speeds too much. It is very good that he has won here in Botswana as he has been winning races outside the country,” Tawana said.
He said that as young boys, they used to camp during the races because they loved the sport very much.
Another person who knew Atang as a young man is his former Setswana teacher at Gaborone Secondary School, Mabel Sibiya, who taught him in 1982, when he was in Form One. She remembers her left-handed former student as a very pleasant, responsible, sociable and respectful young man.
“It was a long time ago but I remember him as a student who took his work seriously,” said Sibiya.
She said that students are students and somewhere along the line they do mischievous things. She, however, does not recall anything naughty that Makgekgenene did.
Botswana’s leading speedster is now a businessman in Johannesburg, South Africa where he runs his trading company called SAM Holdings. The company deals in navigation, satellite and air traffic management. SAM Holdings has offices in Sudan, Angola, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Namibia and Zimbabwe. His job, he says, involves a lot of travelling around the world as the company trades with many countries. He said winning the Toyota Desert Race is a dream come true.
“It’s unbelievable, yet very much real”, said the victorious Makgekgenene.
He said that his true passion and love for car racing started in the mid 1970s when he used to watch the Trans Kalahari Road Race. As he grew older, he started driving to the nearest races in South Africa, like the Mmabatho 500. Makgekgenene said that when he was eligible to drive and could afford a racing car, he then got involved in the sport. However, he did not start right away as a driver but navigated for Bevan Bertholdt.
After buying a Jimco Raceco, which was his second car, he started the off-road racing.
Since he started participating in the Toyota Desert Race in 2001, he has not reached the finish line till this year.
“To have finished the race with no puncture from the beginning to the end is not simple,” Makgekgenene says.
His wife of nearly nine years Lerato was bubbling with joy as she explained what her husband’s victory means to the family and the country. Of their three children, the two elder ones Mogale and Ipeleng are fascinated by car racing. However, they were not at the finish line to see their father’s big moment.
“We are very proud of him as it is a big achievement, especially to win the desert race in our home soil,” Lerato said. “Even Batswana are proud of him and that is the greatest support,” she said.
Makgekgenene said that he is thankful for the support of local fans. “I thank them so much for having been there for us in the past to date and hope they stand behind us and the next Motswana participant in the sport,” he said.
For those who would like to venture into motor racing Makgekgenene had the following words: “This is not a forgiving sport. You just have to start somewhere and keep trying, one day your luck will come”.
