Proudly South African racer
SANDTON – Gennaro Bonafede has had a successful season as a racing driver and he has big dreams for his future in South Africa.
Bryanston-based business analyst Gennaro Bonafede, is a proudly South African racing driver, with a passion for success.
He explained, “This season went very well at the Sasol GTC championship and I finished in second place. This competition took place all over the country at six different racetracks such as in Cape Town, East London and Johannesburg. The highlight of the championships was at the newly revamped Kyalami Racing Circuit as I completely dominated there.”
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Bonafede started the season off on a bad note and his first two races did not go well. “We started off with some problems with the car but we managed to come back and won five out of the eight races. I was pretty happy with that and my sponsors were also extremely proud.”
Although racing may appear to be a solo sport, a lot of teamwork goes into making a driver a success. Whenever he refers to his races, he consistently says ‘we’ because of the respect and admiration that he has for those who work behind the scenes on his car, which is a BMW 2 Series. “I have eight people working on the car and people do not always notice them. They help us full-time and make such a huge contribution,” he said and added that the support of his parents and brother have also been instrumental in his success.
He explained that his exposure to the business world has helped shape his mind for the better. “The responsibilities of this job have made my mind strong and I have matured and become more responsible and committed. This has been good for my racing. My boss has also been very supportive and understanding of my racing.”
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When asked if he has set his sights on the international racing world, he said, “I am proudly South African and want to focus on my career here. I would rather have my bread buttered here in South Africa than have to go abroad and make a whole new loaf of bread,” he said, smiling.
He concluded that he is passionate about his country and will push to improve as much as possible on the local stage, for now.
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