Pixi power for drag racer Terry

Drag racer Terry Yannikakis (65) of Umtentweni has put the South Coast on the map with some ‘Pixi’ magic, showing that dreams can come true.

He recently made the coast proud by winning the 9.0 to 9.4 9-second division in the first round of the SA Drag National Challenge in Midvaal, Johannesburg.

Round 2 will be hosted at Dezzi South Coast Raceway in Oslo Beach on June 24.

Famous DJ, Barney Simon, once said that if ‘it’s too loud, you’re too old’ and this came to mind when Terry started his green machine in his garage on a recent Friday afternoon.

“The neighbours aren’t going to be very happy with me, but it’s not yet the weekend,” he grinned.

What a treat! The throaty growl of the engine was beautiful and loud, definitely loud enough to irritate the neighbours, for sure.

There are two things to racing a car in under 10 seconds: your car has to be lightning fast, and you have to be fearless.

Terry has both.

The humble retiree has always dreamt of owning a 10 second car, and in 2014, he bought Pixi, a 1978 Mazda F1000.

Over the last decade he has tweaked and modified her, to make her a cut above the rest.

The explosive bright green ‘Grinch’ is named after one of the Yannikakis’ rescued wire terrier, Pixi which they got from Harmony Hill, along with her sister, Trixi.

Terry is no stranger to bringing home trophies, locally and further afield.

Another highlight has been making the cover and being the feature story of last year’s December issue of Speed and Sound magazine.

He contributes his success largely to his wife and only crew member Pregs, who helps him get race-ready and has at times helped push the car to the starting line.

Pregs is not only Terry’s number one supporter but she doesn’t mind trading her designer heels for takkies.
Although Terry and Pregs do the hands-on fixing and servicing of Pixi (and his showcase of other sporty cars), they are in high praise of Steve Clark for adding his special touch and secret ‘ingredients’ to give Pixi her ‘vooma’ .

Steve did something along the lines of fitting a bulletproof TH400, high-powered rotary engine and turbo, fine-tuned exhaust system and a few other ‘bits and bobs’ to make Pixi arguably the fastest and most ‘untouchable’ car in her division in the country.

“Pixi has reached her limits, but she has been good to us,” added Terry.

While he is still physically fit, Terry enjoys pushing boundaries and is currently building a car to try to get into the eight second category.

So, what goes through one’s head when you are racing 400m (robot-to-robot racing) in less than 10 seconds?

“It’s all in the mind and you can’t allow your adrenaline to control you. But when it’s all over, I think to myself: That was awesome!”

HAVE YOUR SAY

Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram