WHEN THE cargo you’re handling carries a £3m price tag, there’s no margin for error. Which is why the expertise of a specialist in the field is critical. For the past five years Cape Crating has been involved in the shipment of classic racing cars from the United Kingdom and Europe to and from South Africa for the annual classic races held at Zwartkops outside Pretoria and Killarney in Cape Town. The two motor racing meets are part of an international circuit each year to pit the grand “old gears” and forerunners of Formula 1 and more latterly A1 motor racing against each other in their twilight years. “The loading and unloading of these cars demands specialist attention as they are double stacked six cars per 12m high cube container with only 2-3 centimeters between the vehicles and absolutely no room for error,” says Cape Crating managing director Sean Abbot. “Each car has its own requirements as far as lashing and securing goes, as they are constructed from paper thin fiberglass or aluminum.” A specialist Cape Crating team is dispatched to Zwartkops Raceway outside Pretoria to arrange the loading of the cars for road transport to Cape Town after the race. They are then unloaded in Cape Town and prepared for the event at Killarney, then reloaded for export after race day.” This is one of a range of specialised handling services offered by the company. “Our aim is to provide solutions to reduce the number of crates and shipping containers, so reducing the cost of the export.”
