I have always loved cars - which little boy didn’t? Every haircut at the barbershop got me a Matchbox car and I never went anywhere without my suitcase full of cars. But it was more personal than dinky cars and posters for me, I grew up in a family of racing drivers - my uncle, Gordon Briggs and his famous Broadspeed Anglia and my cousin, Michael Briggs - multiple South African racing champion. I never got into karting or motocross growing up even though I was surrounded by it - it was rugby, athletics and squash for me. My career in television brought me back to the race track, this time not as a supporter but as a presenter and commentator on the Wesbank Super Series – South Africa’s national racing series - before being approached in 2008 to anchor this new, dedicated motoring channel on DSTV called Ignition. That’s when I realised where my true passion lay! When we started it was weekends only, with two hours of looped content which was updated weekly. The channel grew quickly and was soon broadcasting 24/7 into nine African countries with a dedicated weekly viewership in South Africa of 2.5 million. I continued with the channel for 12 years hosting their anchor programme, Ignition GT, which featured the latest news and reviews from the world of motoring – so yes, you name it, I have more than likely driven it! AND its through my work in motoring that I have also been given opportunities in motor racing…a dream come true!
I have enjoyed some incredible exclusive first drives for the South African market on international launches, have unlocked some of the greatest race tracks in the world including a run up the hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and have worked with some of the biggest names in the industry - Valentino Rossi, Sebastian Loeb, Peter Solberg, Ken Block, Mattias Ekstrom, Stephane Petterhansel, Jenson Button, Markus Winkelhock, Romain Dumas, Ben Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Rory Byrne and local superstars Kelvin van der Linde, Jordan Pepper and Sheldon van der Linde.Thanks to opinions that are unbiased and direct along with driving abilities backed up with real racing success, I have earned a solid reputation and am well respected within the industry and by the motoring public at large.
And so the wheels keep turning…what will be in my garage next?
