Drag King

We pore over the fascinating car collection of the father of South African drag racing.

- Wilhelm Lutjeharms

I’VE never seen anything like it. As I walk into the large workshop, there are no fewer than three extreme dragsters: two are equipped with jet engines and the other is a top-fuel racer.

Since 1972, the proprietor of what would become Tarlton International Raceway, icon Mick van Rensburg has been a petrolhead through and through: “I’ve always had an interest in all things mechanical, be it reconditioning an engine or changing pistons. I studied electrical engineering and did a course at a technikon where I learnt more about diesel engines and power generators.”

Even though Mick and his brother started an engineering business in 1959, he remained passionate about fast cars and wanted to work on them daily. “My first car was a 1952 Oldsmobile Rocket 88, a left-hand-drive V8-engined car.” This is rather appropriate for a guy who would become one of the fastest drag racers South Africa has seen.