The annual DubRun with the Volkswagen Club of SA has just taken place, and it was yet another great instalment of this long-running event. If you’re one of those awake people who remember details, you may have figured out that the 2022 DubRun didn’t take place a year ago, but instead it was about seven months ago. The 2022 event was a bit different because there were some plans in play to have something special for DubRunners to see. This was a surprise in the form of the truck and racecars from VW Motorsport, but just before DubRun was set to start the VW Motorsport team suffered a tragic accident and could no longer join. Being near the end of the year, the show had to go on. For this 2023 instalment, the Club’s annual pilgrimage returned to the same weekend as the many before, in the middle of June. While June is cold in Jo’burg, Durban sorta skips winter and so it makes for a brilliant mid-year getaway with like-minded people, great cars and great weather.
Traditionally, DubRun is divided into a few different gatherings and these kick off with the Tape Up event the night before the actual run begins. A night gets set aside for those who want to stylize their rides with the iconic blue masking tape, splashed over the cars in cool and interesting designs. Some entrants do the design at home first simply due to how intricate their designs are, a few hours in a parking lot just won’t cut it. Last year Tape Up was looking like events of old with quite a few people in attendance. This year Tape Up was pretty quiet, as you’ll see in the images, so there’s really not much coverage of what happened. Tape Up is also used to collect the DubRun packs allocated to each entrant, so some arrived to collect and left again. It may have been because it was cold, or because the venue this year was in Benoni at Northmead Square, but it was quieter than expected. It was still a decent night out with a bunch of rad people.
Also, some people order DubRun packs with no intention of going on the actual run, this is not a bad thing and is pretty much expected because the DubRun packs are just so damn cool. This year they were packed with cool things, including the limited-edition and sought-after DubRun t-shirt. Also a branded DubRun glass, SM Tattoo vouchers, Enamel Ridez keyrings, a Turtle Wax kit, Aerobion air fresheners and a bunch of DubRun and motoring-related stickers. The chaps from AmPro were also there showing off some of the coolest tools and Brembo products on the market – shot for the t-shirt and beanies chaps! By 21:00, Tape Up was over.
Friday 16th June was the actual DubRun day, and the first meet up was the Total Petroport on the N3 South near Heidelberg. The plan was to arrive at 06:00 and hit the road by 07:00, and that’s how things happened. Being a public holiday, the place was packed with travellers including loads of bikers, a bunch of old school VWs heading to a classic car show, and a bunch of Jeeps heading to a weekend event of their own. It was also quite dark, so images from this meet didn’t happen, but luckily as we hit the road the sun started peeking over the horizon and so some rolling shots were possible as we headed the Bergview Engen One Stop in Harrismith. Here we gather ourselves, get food and wait for a few others to join.
This section was also busy, and not too exciting, but it’s part of the trip and so you can see a few pics. It was also uncharacteristically warm in Harrismith, it’s usually sunny and freezing but this was where my VAG Café hoodie was relegated to the boot. From here the convoy headed out to Durban with plans to rendezvous at Ballito’s Casuarina Beach to meet up with some KZN VW Club members and fans. Again, pretty quiet at this stop, most members went straight to their accommodation, but it was still a cool little meet.
Saturday on DubRun is usually the main day with something cool set up for everyone. This time round the Club joined up with CFAO Motors Ballito VW to host My Car Got Shot. The club has done a few of these park-offs and they’re always a success. The event was billed to run from 11:00 to 17:00, and it did just that. The chaps from the dealership shuffled the stock cars and that gave space for well over 100 cars to park, and there were more than that seen throughout the day, so say My Car Got Shot was a success is an understatement. The amount and quality of cars was great and included a bunch of insane rides from Body Line Auto including their internet-breaking RS-swapped Tiguan R.
The entertainment and the food vendors were also good. I had a great day of shooting, I was busy the whole day and I like that a lot, well until it comes time to edit. With these My Car Got Shot evens, the point is to shoot cars when asked to, and only a couple of people asked for their own shots separate to the usual event shots. Not a bad thing though because the venue looks good and so even the usual event-style shots worked out just right. We also witnessed the Body Line crew take delivery of their brand new Mk8 Golf R. Niiiiice!
From the dealership, everyone headed to their respective accommodation to freshen up for the prize-giving held at Fiamma Grill, Ballito. DubRun usually ends at Beach Bums, but last year it wasn’t as good as previous years, hence the change ion venue. Fiamma Grill was a brilliant choice. With more of a restaurant vibe it was a low-key celebration instead of all-out riotous shenanigans. A few different prizes were handed out, but the one everyone wanted to see was the Tape Up winner, and once again that honour went to, and stayed with, Stephan Maritz. This man’s tape up designs are always mind-blowing and this year was no different. He sliced up the blue tape rolls so he had a thinner tape to work with, and that resulted in some amazing detail in the design. You’ll see what I mean in the full album that you’ll inf on the VAG Café Facebook page.
So DubRun 2k23 was a success, and this means we should see the 2024 instalment being even bigger and better. As usual, VAG Café will report back on what happens next year. If you’re keen on joining, follow the VW Club’s social media. You won’t regret joining because it’s a weekend full of VAG fans, a nice and chilled drive on decent roads and a chance to see the sea and create some amazing VW-related memories. We’ll see you there. Until then, head on over to the VAG Cafe Facebook page to check out the full album of over 200 images.
