
The annual DubRun with the Volkswagen Club of SA recently took place, and VAG CafĂ© was in attendance, but you already knew that would be the case. The event is the Club’s annual pilgrimage to Durban, an event that was started way back in 2007. In fact, boss man and owner of VAG CafĂ©, Shaun Mooloo was one of the initial instigators along with a bunch of like-minded Volkswagen and Audi fanatics. Memory is a little fuzzy because we’ve been in this game so long, but I recall it being a spin-off of the once-annual Autostyle Show that was always mad busy and so the guys set up their own events in Durban to have fun at either on the day before or the day after the Autostyle bash away from the maddening crowds. Someone will no doubt correct me if I’m wrong because that’s what people love to do on the interwebz.Â

The whole pandemic things messed up a little and so the return to travel after all the bad things saw last year’s run a little smaller than usual, but for this 2022 instalment there were more people on board again and so while this one was still a little more intimate, it bodes well for the 2023 DubRun. In fact, the VWCSA Committee is now hell-bent on rounding up as many of the OG DubRunners as possible to make it the biggest and best event to date. I know I’ll be there, and I’m sure a bunch will be keen for an awesome weekend away.Â

As is the norm the run to the coast, things are split into smaller events and so things kick off with Tape Up NIght. This is where the attendees meet up at a predetermined location to apply blue painter’s tape to the cars. Initially this was done to prevent stone chips thanks to having a bunch of cars driving in convoy but it eventually evolved into elaborate designs and patterns. At one point attendees used to apply full vehicle wraps just for the run but we didn’t see that this time round. Once all the designs are done and the cars hit Durban, the Club Comm decides on the best tape-up design and prizes are awarded accordingly. For 2022 the winner was a previous winner, Stephan Maritz. You can see why in the pics – this year he covered his Amarok in a Joker theme and absolutely rocked it. You could see the other DubRunners give the large VW a skeef eye when it pulled into Soapy Rides, the venue chose for the event within an event. Attendees also get to collect their much-anticipated goodie bags that contain cool things from the sponsors as well as the Club, including the coolest DubRun 2k22 T-shirts, at Tape Up Night.

The next part of the event is the actual convoy down to Durban, and the DubRun chaps all meet up dark and early at the One Stop heading out of JHB. After a meet and greet and some coffee, the convoy heads on to the midway point in Harrismith. This is another photo op and also where some Durban or outlying DubRunners meet up for goodie bag collections and to join in the rest of the convoy down. After a good lunch, the convoy hits the road again, and this is the perfect opportunity for some power rolling shots. There was meant to be a shot of each car but somehow my lens picked up a blob of water from hanging out of the car at 130 km/h and it moved around causing some very annoying blurs. To compensate, the camera car drove ahead to catch the cars leaving the last toll gate but there was such a mess in the traffic that some of the convoy split and had to take an alternate route and so that messed up getting the rest of the cars shot without the lens water blob from hell. Once in Durban everyone heads off to their respective accommodation for a “free night” to get acquainted with the Durban weather and settle in.Â

On the Saturday, the DubRun crew made their way to the planned event which for 2k22 was a dyno day at Autotrix, set up by the crew from Kinetic Garage. The venue was a good 50km from the accommodation areas everyone stayed at, but those coastal KZN roads made for an awesome drive. These dyno days are usually quiet in the morning and early afternoon with most of the locals only heading through to support at night. The Club was set to stay until around 15:00, after arriving at around 10:00. There wasn’t too much action on the dyno while we were there though, but some DubRunners did put their cars on the rollers. I wasn’t brave enough, the last thing I wanted was an issue with the car so far from home, and a few others clearly felt the same. There were a few decent cars spotted, the unexpected highlight being the sedate-looking yellow Mk1 Golf with a 3.2 6-pot engine transplant that made almost 190 kW, normally aspirated. It’s got to be the coolest sleeper seen in a while.Â

Towards our planned exit time the rain started, but it wasn’t too bad. From the dyno day event the whole convoy left for their accommodation to freshen up before heading to Beach Bums. This is one of the highlights of the events because a good party at a great venue with awesome people always rocks. Before the jam jars started flowing too heavily, the Club Comm handed out prizes for various things, including the Tape-Up winner announcement, strongest DubRunner on the rollers and best prep. A great party was had, there’s not much that compares to chilling on a beach, having a great drink and a fat blaze with some decent music playing. Well, the music was decent for a little while at least.

For the Sunday the plan was to have a massive group photoshoot in the afternoon, but because everyone was spread around Durban and some people had left for home early that morning, the shoot ended up rather intimate, just four cars made it. We chose to shoot on the closed coastal highway near Stanger, with the bridge being out of commission since the devastating KZN floods, it was the perfect spot. You usually can’t even pull over on the busy road, but with almost zero traffic it was an opportunity not to be missed. Some great images were captured of the few cars that made it through. The only downside was that a few cars had previously crashed into the concrete barriers blocking access to the bridge and so there were loads of little sharp things around, one of which decided that a great place to be was in one of my nearly-new Hankooks. I guess as far as kak things happening 600 km from home, a puncture is not too much to complain about.Â

DubRun 2k22 was great, every part of it was fun and the people involved were all awesome. It was one of those events that sorta fed the soul. While it wasn’t as big as previous years it still rocked, and I’m already looking forward to the 2023 instalment that will hopefully see a bunch of the OG DubRunners back in attendance. The 2023 instalment will take place in June again, which is when DubRun is meant to take place. This year there were some cool plans that necessitated a move to November, but sadly a tragic accident with the VWSA Motorsport team truck and trailer saw that fall away. Either way, I’m in for 2023, I hope you are too. I just want to send a huge thanks to all involved, the VWCSA Committee, the crew at the dyno day and everyone who was part of the run. As usual, you can check out the full album on the VAG CafĂ© Facebook page soon.Â
