Sasha Martinengo and Paul Rotherham are racing head-to-head across South Africa using their fleet of fans – and like-minded motoring enthusiasts – on Twitter in a four-day race to promote Times Media’s new DVD release, The Need for Speed.
The celebrity duo are racing a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 and a Koenigsegg Agera R around the coast of South Africa and back to Jozi, solely propelled by hashtags (#) from their army of fans who will tweet their support. The racers will make their way from Alexander Bay on the West Coast, hugging the ocean to Richards Bay, before taking a last left to the finish line in Jozi. First driver back wins, and one loyal co-pilot from their Twitter support crew will also win an authentic Ford Mustang jacket celebrating 50 Years of Mustang Power.
Directed by Scott Waugh this year’s “ultimate thrill ride” is based on the most successful racing video game franchise ever by Electronic Arts, with over 140 million copies sold. The movie stars Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Dominic Cooper (Captain America: The First Avenger, The Devil’s Double), and Dakota Johnson (50 Shades of Grey, The Social Network).
“This ‘race before the race’ idea is a creative take on the thread that runs through the movie, but, in true South African style, there’s some digital innovation to bring it to life. It’s really clever, and I can’t wait to take on Paul from coast to coast. I have no doubt I’ll leave him in my dust,” says Martinengo, a renowned ‘petrolhead’ and DJ on Ballz Radio.
Replies Rotherham, “The movie is a real blast and this idea should be a fun way of getting people involved, plus our ‘support crew’ that drive us have the chance to win prizes each day. So come race with us; I want to keep Sasha in my rear view mirror.”
The film centres around Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul), a blue-collar mechanic who races muscle cars on the side in an unsanctioned street-racing circuit. Struggling to keep his family-owned garage afloat, he reluctantly partners with the wealthy and arrogant ex-Nascar driver Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper). But just as a major sale to car broker Julia Maddon (Imogen Poots) looks like it will save Tobey’s shop, a disastrous race allows Dino to frame Tobey for a crime he didn’t commit, and sending Tobey to prison while Dino expands his business out West.
Two years later, Tobey is released and set on revenge — but he knows his only chance to take down his rival Dino is to defeat him in the high-stakes race known as De Leon — the Super Bowl of underground racing.
The race started on Tuesday. Register at https://racebeforetherace.co.za, and then, during the race, tweet the hashtag of the driver you support: #SashaNFS for Sasha Martinengo (@F1sasha), or #PaulNFS for Paul Rotherham (@paulrotherhamZA).
