This month, we caught up with Christopher Radloff, son of Ian’s Auto Clinic owner and MIWA member Ian Radloff, who is making his mark as a builder of Rally Raids at Hallspeed.
Hallspeed manufactured the Toyota GR Hilux, the winning car at this year’s World Rally-Raid, hosted in Spain – a sign that Christopher is keeping good company. He joined the company a year ago, and since then has attended the Full South African Rally-Raid Championship as well as the 2022 Dakar Rally with the team.
It’s hard work, Christopher admits – but it’s also very exciting. The 40-member Hallspeed team is responsible for building parts for various companies around the world, which means that the work is non-stop. At the moment, they are rebuilding cars for the Dakar Rally, while also constructing new cars – and, at the same time, they’re testing the vehicles and sourcing spare parts and equipment to send over to the next rally. This is all in preparation for the next event, which will see the drivers and their staff flying to Saudi Arabia on Christmas Day to spend four weeks participating in the gruelling Dakar Rally 2023 before heading back home.
Christopher says that the best part of the job is being part of the team – and, of course, travelling to take part in the races. “It’s all about passion. This job takes a lot of dedication, so you need to be prepared to be up all night with your team members and up early to do it all again,” he concludes.