DK Villas becomes a Formula Libre sponsor!

For years, Johann de Kock, one half of the passion and vision behind dk villas, has fervently supported Formula One racing. Who can say what it was about the sport that reeled him in? The roar of 900+ horsepower engines, the glint of flawlessly aerodynamic metal in the sun, the crowds erupting in cheers, the spirit…whatever it was, a love of racing was brought all the way home with the addition to the de Kock family of a son-in-law who races Formula Libre in South Africa.

If Johann was a fan before, getting to know and love his son-in-law, Dee-Jay Booysen, took his support to fanatical levels. And now that Dee-Jay has acquired a brand new car for his team, Dico racing team #20, a very proud Johann, together with his wife and the other half of the passion and vision behind dk villas, Petra de Kock can fulfil another lifelong dream: to become an official sponsor in Formula racing.

“When we met Dee-Jay, of course, the interest was there, and now that he’s family, it’s a big thing,” says Petra. “We are so proud of him – he is an excellent driver and he has achieved so much!”

Let’s take a closer look at Formula Libre, dk villas’ sponsorship of Dee-Jay Booysen’s team, and his thrilling new career of racing at Killarney Race Track in Cape Town!

What is Formula Libre?

In the lean years following World War Two, when there wasn’t much money available to spend on the more “frivolous” of expenses, like motor racing, a more flexible and adaptive form of the sport evolved. Stringent automobile requirements were tossed out the window. Instead, you could race a wide variety of automobiles, ages, and makes of purpose-built racing cars, which competed head-to-head.

This renaissance in motor racing kept the sport alive at a time when it would otherwise have perished and, because racers were pretty much free to bring whatever vehicle they wanted to compete, it became known as “Formula Libre” (meaning free). The only regulations governing the sportcovered the basics, such as safety equipment.

“At club level, single-seaters happily rubbed wheels with specials and production sports cars, while a kind of halfway house category might simply combine singleseaters of all shapes and sizes, conceivably involving such rocket ships as the 4½-litre ‘ThinWall Special’ Ferrari or the 1½-litre supercharged BRM V16s with 2-litre Connaughts and Cooper-Bristols, ERAs, variably arthritic pre-war Maseratis plus 1000 or 1100cc air-cooled Cooper-Vincents and Cooper-JAPs,” writes renowned motor racing historian Doug Nye in his article Time for Formula Libre?

This really made (and makes) for some interesting competitions, while also opening opportunities for compelling driving performances against superior machinery.

Free formula racing went on to play an important role not only in British-based club racing but also in the international race calendar. And, as we said, it lead the revival of the sport in the wake of the economic doldrums left by the war. What with the global pandemic bringing world economies to yet another standstill, Formula Libre may very well once again explode into the limelight!

Formula Libre in South Africa

South Africa, of course, is no stranger to Formula Libre. In a country struggling for economic prosperity (but with no shortage of racing spirit), Formula Libre has long been the stage upon which countless aspiring professional racers have honed their skills and exerted their passions. And it continues to offer low cost, entry level racing that is as thrilling and action-packed as its more formal (and expensive) sister sport.

Formula Libre is also the ideal platform from which to launch South Africa’s motor racing stars of the future! Over the years, single seater Formula Libre has provided hundreds of young South African men and even women the opportunity to compete in Motor Sport at the National Championship level. And Dee-Jay Booysen with Dico racing team #20 is one of them!

Accomplished racer Dee-Jay Booysen

Dee-Jay Booysen’s list of major achievements runs long:In 2010/2011, he came second overall in the Dirt Oval Carting Club Championship. In 2012, 2013, and 2014, he came first overall for the Formula M - 400cc Class C Club Championship (Half Circuit) and in 2018 and 2019, he won first overall in the Formula Libre – 1300cc Class S: WP Club Championship (Main Circuit), to name just a few of his accolades over the past decade.

This is not to mention snagging the love and devotion of Johann and Petra de Kock’s beloved daughter Chris-Lee and the birth of their beautiful little boy.

It’s only right that dk villas, fuelled by Johann’s enduring passion for racing, lends its support and sponsorship to this bright rising star in South African motor sport. So the next time you head down to Killarney Race Track (once life returns to normal after the pandemic) be sure to look out for Dico racing team #20, their brand new car, and dk villas’ proud logo!