The third edition of the Picanto Cup, starts again this Saturday, April 22 at ATCM in Maputo, which is already the largest motorsport competition in Mozambique.
In between, several editions and dozens of races full of strong emotions, tight overtaking, ‘rollover’ more or less expected and curved road exits and everything, not to fail to pass faster on the finish line towards the final champagne, in an explosion of podiums of full satisfaction.
It was moments like these that made it accelerate, is the right term here, a growth that was becoming evident at the level of the professionalism of the organisation. The sporting part, in charge of the ATCM team, the event itself, scaled to the image of what is done in other markets, to be a show around several races, here by the team of Kia itself, which gives its name to the trophy.
In this edition, which starts this Saturday, the championship will host 14 teams, a reduction in comparison to the previous editions that could count with 22 vehicles and pilots doubles. Not for that, however, the competitiveness will be less, quite the opposite. On the one hand, the race model itself, a mono-brand trophy in which the motorization of the cars is made equal for all, but to which, this year, changes were added that will make the competition even tighter compared to previous editions, via changes to the configuration of the boxes and that “will bring more speed to the cars and make the race even more dynamic and exciting”, points out Tiago Água, general manager of Kia and one of the most visible faces of this event since its launch, in 2019. “It’s good to say that all of this results, as with the races, from a team effort to which we all have to be grateful,” he recalls.
Another of the main and most visible changes in the 2023 edition of the Picanto Cup is the presence of more brands sponsoring both the race and also the teams themselves, which, for Kia’s general manager has added “value and a greater degree of professionalism to many of the participants”. But, above all, “it proves the merits of this initiative. In one hand, Kia is a car manufacturer and the interest is to divulge our brand, but the Picanto Cup is much more than that because, with its growth, it has created an attractive platform so that many of the most recognized brands in the country can also communicate. And finally, there is the sporting issue itself. Competitive races, pairs of pilots that each run two races, seven races a year, between Mozambique and South Africa, where we combine sport, spectacle for more and more people, networking between sponsors and pilots and a lot of emotion. I think that we have managed to be today what we imagined when we started a few years ago”.
However, and despite the growth of this trophy that has already become the main moment of motor sport in Mozambique, this is, assures Tiago Água, “the last edition in the current format”. Why? “Yes, it’s our ‘last dance’ indeed (smiles). An organization of this kind that already moves dozens of people, both on the side of the event itself, as the sporting part that the ATCM, and very well, ensures, should be made, from our side, by a professional structure, and entirely dedicated to this. Note that we managed to attract sponsors like FNB, Shell, Zap, CDM and Hollard, that is, we grew a lot, and that’s excellent. The model we have is exhausted with this great growth that we have achieved in such a short time. On the other hand, the Picanto will have a new car, so our decision is to promote deep changes in the race model, but at this moment we have nothing closed. We will have time to decide. We can think about raly off-road races, on the speed track, even trophies open to other brands… At this moment I would not like to close this subject. The truth is that the Picanto Cup has shown that motorsports in Mozambique is viable, it attracts spectators, brands, drivers, and can, in fact, be an essential part of the Mozambican sporting panorama for years to come. And that makes us happy, as promoters of a successful event, but essentially, as motor sport lovers”.
The Picanto Cup is a competition organized since 2019 by KIA with the Automobile & Touring Club of Mozambique (ATCM) that promotes this sport having as main objective to promote and expand the responsible and inclusive practice of motoring in Mozambique.
The season of Picanto Cup starts then this Saturday, April 22, at ATCM, starting at 8:00 am.
