One of my least proud moments was captured on film for posterity. I ostensibly drove a racing Ferrari around the Swartkops racetrack and discovered that despite two advanced driving courses to my name, the unbound experience of being strapped into a racing car and unleashing a full-throttled beast into the nearest corner was a step too far for my tender nerves.
I pictured a crumpled sports car and a very sad ending and consequently drove like an antiquity marshalling a zimmer frame. The shame of it all. But as far as developing an inkling of insight into the heart-stopping, adrenaline-pumping, single-minded joy of it — I got that in spades. Which is why I wanted to meet the delightful couple behind South Africa’s racing reality show, now streaming on Showmax, called Volspoed.
Antonie Marx is a novice endurance racer, and his wife, Ronette, a former model, Miss SA finalist and impressive businesswoman, runs a successful aesthetics practice. Together they navigate their family’s high-speed ambitions in the South African Endurance Series (SAES).
“It’s the story of him transitioning from sprint racing into SAES,” Ronette explains. “He wanted to drive a very famous little race car, but it wasn’t reliable enough for that type of racing. In endurance you’re up against Lambos, Porsches — everything. The beginning of the storyline is the car and why he chose the Shelby. That’s very cool.
“And then there’s everything that happens around motorsport and us as a family. There’s one episode where he crashes and how all of us react. It’s actually a lot of fun.”
Ronette worked as a model and TV presenter in India for three years after what was meant to be a one-month work trip turned into a career shift. The show was her idea after returning to South Africa to be with Antonie.
I like cars. I like the sport. It’s great competition. It’s a family sport. That’s why I keep doing it, and I’ll probably carry on because it’s something I’ll do with my kiddy one day. That’s probably why I’m still in it, and why we’ll all stay in
“For me racing is like a business,” she says. “If you look at the money that goes out — everyone’s sponsored, everyone works with tyre companies. I had this idea that it should be a TV show because what they do is very cool. They also had a shop where his father built race cars. That’s when the idea came to pitch something. Motorsport just isn’t widely known in South Africa.”
She sent an e-mail proposal and heard nothing. “A year later someone called. ‘You have your publicity shoot on Monday.’ I said, ‘For what?’ And they said, ‘The show.’ I thought they had the wrong girl. But it got picked up.”
We meet for a quick lunch at Bellagio in Illovo, where I confess to craving the salty homemade bread. With a little imagination one could see an F1 track meandering outside if we were magically transported to Monaco.
Antonie drives a Shelby (which I insist on associating with Matt Damon). He learnt to drive on his family’s farm, in a salt pan where his father built a makeshift racetrack.
“We would play there on weekends. My dad would invite friends to use it. One day, I was about 12 or 13, and a guy said, ‘Jump in. Now you’re racing.’ I’d driven the car before but never raced it. I had pillows behind me to see over the wheel. That was my first time racing.”
Racing runs in the family. “My dad worked for Tony Viana, one of the older famous racing drivers in SA. My father’s sister married Tony’s brother, so it became a family affair. We all got involved.”
I want to discuss the Shelby. “They built about 50 of these cars — the specific model I have — though they built many others. They were imported into South Africa and raced for a few years before the championship died. I bought one and we redid it, upgraded it so we can race it now. It’s an old car with a lot of new tech.”
Ronette is pragmatic. “I said to him, ‘You either race and do it properly or don’t race at all.’ Club racing isn’t small. It’s a week or a week-and-a-half of travelling, accommodation — it’s a big story. You’ll see if you watch the show. It’s a lot on the household just for fun. So if you’re going to do it, race in the best series. Get sponsorships. Do it properly.”
I ask Antonie what drives him.
“I like cars. I like the sport. It’s great competition. It’s a family sport. That’s why I keep doing it, and I’ll probably carry on because it’s something I’ll do with my kiddy one day. That’s probably why I’m still in it, and why we’ll all stay in.”
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