F1 man, Sasha Martinengo is calling on support across social networks for South Africans to help power his fuel as he road trips across South Africa in Grace, a classic, 1958 Triumph 3a. Everything, from what Martinengo listens to, what he packs, what he eats and how he gets there has been placed in the hands of the public.
The socially powered ‘Keep It Going’ road trip, fueled by Caltex with Techron®, kicks off on the 3rd of December in Johannesburg, where Martinengo will leave the Caltex Posthouse Service Station in Bryanston and hit the road with Grace, a classic Truimph as voted for by the public.
According to Jill Koopman, Caltex Brand C-Store Alliance Manager, this is the third and final phase in a campaign, which has been hosted on Facebook and Twitter. Phases 1 and 2 called on the public to vote for the car and then help Martinengo pack for his trip, prepare his playlists and offer advice.
Prior to knowing which car had been chosen, Martinengo said that he could not wait to see which stunner would be chosen and now that he knows he will be paired with Grace he says he is excited for the opportunity to drive ‘the beauty’ from JHB to Cape Town.
Without public participation, Martinengo and the road trip team could find themselves without fuel, stranded in the middle of nowhere. The public will need to be involved for the 1,600km, six day journey by tweeting #keepitgoing to ensure he can fill his tank using Caltex with Techron® fuel.
Martinengo says, “I am calling on all South Africans to help me on my way, please tweet @CaltexSA using the #keepitgoing hashtag and engage on Facebook. Without your tweets and suggestions the journey will be pretty boring and I may end up living in a cellar of a 1900’s monument somewhere between Kroonstad and Graaff Reinet.”
“I have opened myself up to daily challenges which include; an ostrich ride, a Gangnam style dance with service station attendants, road trip karaoke, social eye spy and a series of dares provided by followers on Twitter, so get Tweeting,” he says.
Koopman continues, “There are a number of opportunities for South Africans to be rewarded for their involvement with daily spot prizes when participating via social networks in the padkos challenge, names on wheels game, guessing the mileage to next stops, guessing the colour of cars driving by. Not to mention the R4,000 daily cash prize up for grabs.” All the details can be found @CaltexSA or on
facebook.com/CaltexSA
The public will also be able to view Martinengo’s progress, check out his fuel tank status, and watch videos of all the weird stuff he gets up to and the crazy people he encounters while on his trip.
“Thanks to Caltex, this promises to be an epic journey,” concludes Martinengo.
The Journey:
Martinengo and the team will travel from Johannesburg to Cape Town via the following route:
Day 1: JHB to Kroonstad stopping at a well-known treasure trove, De Kraal Antiques and Collectibles in Vereeniging. There, they will have to find a quirky souvenir for the trip. During the journey the souvenir will be photographed in strange, surprising or funny scenarios.
Day 2: Kroonstad to Bloemfontein will be no ordinary day out in the sticks. Very often on this route one drives past a lone hut or a lone person. The teams’ challenge is to knock on the door of a lone house or interview a lone wanderer; the story will be shared with all of South Africa, exposing what life is like in these quieter areas.
Day 3: Bloemfontein to Graaff Reinet
Day 4: Graaff Reinet to George with a detour to Oudtshoorn will take the team to the natural wonder of the Cango Caves and most importantly will see Martinengo filmed while riding an ostrich.
Day 5: George to Hermanus naturally culminates in a whale-watching tour but while on their way the team will need to show the public their best display of ‘car dancing’ to an epic road trip song chosen for by the public.
Day 6: The road trip team will arrive in Cape Town where the journey ends at the newly launched Caltex, ‘Airport City’ at Airport Industria near Cape Town International Airport. Once the wheels stop a winners name/Twitter handle closest to the road will win a spot prize.
