VIDEO: Mika Hakkinen drops in for a gentleman’s wager
KYALAMI – The ultimate gentlemen’s wager between South African rally driver and television presenter Gugu Zulu and two-time Formula 1 World Champion Mika Häkkinen has been waged.
The Johnnie Walker Blue Label inspired wager, tagged #WalkerWager was announced at Kyalami Race Track and will take place in April at a date to be announced. The bet is that if Zulu accomplishes a near impossible feat, Häkkinen would hand him the keys to an immaculate classic racing car, a 1958 Mercedes 300SL Roadster owned by Häkkinen.
Watch this video of Mika Hakkinen’s arrival at the press conference for the #WalkerWager, as well as clips of the banter between rivals Gugu Zulu and Vusi Thembekwayo:
To win the wager, Zulu would have to successfully train businessman and international public speaker, Vusi Thembekwayo in a limited amount of time, to set a lap time at Kyalami Race Track within five seconds of Häkkinen’s best Kyalami track time, in a car of Zulu’s choice. Thembekwayo is a racing enthusiast with no experience.
Häkkinen and Thembekwayo will each be racing three sets of timed laps around the track, starting with Häkkinen setting the time that Thembekwayo has to chase.
Häkkinen responded, mildly amused, to the challenge. “Okay, firstly, it will take a lot for a novice to set a good time around Kyalami, and secondly, to then expect him to be within five seconds of my best time, well, that I’ve got to see,” he said. “So, yes, you’re on.”
When Thembekwayo was asked why he accepted the challenge, the astute businessman replied, “As young people in this country we spend our lives defying the odds. For me, any opportunity to even out the odds, to win is worth taking up. If it means taking on arguably one of the best Formula 1 racers the world has ever seen, I am very happy to do so.”
Watch this video as members of the press get five star treatment as they ascend into the sky for an aerial view of Kyalami Race Track:
Do our local petrol heads think Vusi Thembekwayo has what it takes to go as fast as Mika Häkkinen around Kyalami Race Track? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
