JORDAN MAC GREGOR: I’D LOVE TO RACE IN V8 SUPERCARS

If you want to know the racers of the future, you have to look at the smaller leagues. Kids from all over the world are dreaming big and going all out to become pro racing drivers. Jordan Mac Gregor is one of them. He lives in Johannesburg and is constantly building a his motorsport career. We sat down with him and learned all about South African Grassroots racing.

 

 

 

So your racing career started at 14? That’s pretty young.

 

Well, I started racing cars at 14 and before that I was racing on two wheels. I started out on a pocket bike and then later a Honda 100cc and 150cc. When my father, who used to race with me on the bike, had an accident and got injured, he didn’t want me to suffer the same fate so we switched to four-wheel racing instead.

 

What was your first race car? How did you evolve to racing on four wheels?

 

My father had been racing cars for over almost fifteen years. So after the motorcycle incident he bought a Golf MKII for me and my brother to drive. I raced that car last year in the modified production category. I was 15 at the time.

 

 

 

So you race cars on the track, but you’re not allowed to drive on the roads yet?

 

Yes exactly. Because it’s a private facility, you don’t need a driver’s license but I do have a racing license. I won’t have a driver’s license for another few years.

 

What is the South African racing scene like?

 

It’s actually quite big. There are a lot of small racetracks with the most famous one being Kyalami. We have a big national series with a Porsche Cup etc., but we have an even bigger regional class, with the modified production series. The real grassroots stuff. The biggest challenge in South Africa is budgets, they’re not even close to European or American levels, which makes a huge difference in the overall approach.