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Drifting
Drifting + dance battle x a load of entertainment = spinning
It's not drifting, OK! Ahead of Red Bull Shay' iMoto 2020, here's everything you need to know about the South African stunt driving phenomenon that's become the motorsport of the people.
Written by Jazz Kuschke
3 min readPublished on
You might not have heard of spinning before, but this wild mix of drifting and personal expression is massive in South Africa and is going to show you exactly why.
So, what is spinning exactly?
Essentially, it involves drivers locking their car into a spin and then – amid screeching tyres and clouds of smoke – climbing out of the car to perform moves and poses on the bodywork, or even hang upside down from the window with their head just millimetres above the ground. It's drifting meets a dance battle, where crowd entertainment is the goal.
Get a better idea of the wild ride that is spinning by watching highlights of 2019's Red Bull Shay' iMoto event at the top of the page ☝️
A participant performs during the Red Bull Shay’iMoto in Johannesburg, South Africa on October 19, 2019.
Red Bull Shay' iMoto puts the best spinners on a global stage© Craig Kolesky/Red Bull Content Pool
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"In pure, simplistic classification terms, spinning is the art of controlling chaos while creating entertainment, just like theatre, while drifting is a motorsport governed by a strict set of rules and formats," says Vic Pardal, Sportive Director of Red Bull Shay' iMoto.
Spinning isn't about having the highest tech cars and all the associated costs of mainstream motorsports. If your car can be made to spin, that's all you need to get started – although a classic BMW 325i is definitely the choice car for serious spinners.
While it may not be respected as a motorsport to some, to the spinning community it has become their pride and joy. "It's a culture and a movement, and yet, it's the only motorsport that covers all races and faces," Pardal continues says. "It is the only motorsport that's accessible for everyone in this country.”
According to Pardal, spinning is deeply rooted in South African culture and has been happening for more than 30 years. "Traditionally, it was used as a celebration of life at people's funerals and for certain other celebrations and purposes which were beyond the law," he says, explaining that while it remains loud and raw, spinning has evolved a lot over the past three decades and emerged from its sometimes shadowy past to move into the mainstream motoring scene.
"As long as there have been rear-wheel drive cars in South Africa, people have been spinning," he says. "But spinning is very different today to what someone's uncle or grandfather was doing years ago in recreation centre parking lots."
In the mainstream sphere, spinners have become performers out to entertain the crowds. "It's pretty much a travelling circus, where we, as the paid performers, travel from town to town and entertain the masses," Pradal says.
While spinning isn't traditionally a competitive motorsport, the innovative format that's been developed for will crown a winner without compromising the traditional spectacle in any way. The event will see 12 of South Africa's best spinners go head-to-head to show off their best, most creative and wild ideas in hopes of being crowned the Red Bull Shay’ iMoto 2020 champions.
Inside the venue at Red Bull Shay’ iMoto in Johannesburg, South Africa on October 19, 2019.
Red Bull Shay’ iMoto is going to be a serious show© Mpumelelo Macu/Red Bull Content Pool
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Red Bull Shay' iMoto

A dozen of South Africa's top spinners will battle it out on a course designed for maximum trickery.

South AfricaJohannesburg, South Africa
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Drifting
Motoring

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