“Courage Isn’t the Absence of Fear”: KZN Drag Racer Razia Cassim Rewrites the Rules of Motorsport
- Razia Cassim is one of South Africa's fastest female drag racers and co-founder of Northern Natal Motorsport, which promotes safe, family-friendly racing in KZN
- She overcame a deep fear of speed after losing her father in a car accident in 2001, choosing to face that fear instead of letting it define her
- Cassim races alongside her husband, Faizel, not against him, and the pair have built a platform to bring more women and young people into the sport
- Briefly News shines a light on Cassim's journey as part of its Women of Wonder: Steering the Story series, celebrating the women shaping South Africa's motoring industry
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Source: Original
Razia Cassim never set out to become one of South Africa's fastest female drag racers. In fact, for years, she was afraid of speed altogether. Her motoring journey started in 2009, when her husband, Faizel, surprised her with a Volkswagen Golf II Wolfsburg Edition. It was her first real introduction to the world of modified cars, and it planted a seed that would grow into something much bigger.
Three years later, Faizel surprised her again, this time with a Volkswagen Golf 6R. The car hadn't even clocked 1,000 kilometres before the engine came out and the modifications began.
"Looking back, it still makes us laugh," Cassim said. That same Golf 6R became her first drag racing car, and remarkably, it's still the one she races today.
She competed in her first legal drag race in December 2012 at Mtubatuba. She still remembers the adrenaline, the atmosphere, and the sense of camaraderie among competitors. From that race onward, she knew motorsport would be part of her life for good.
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Facing a fear rooted in tragedy
What most people don't know about Cassim is that she was genuinely afraid of speed. In 2001, her father died in a motor vehicle accident, and for years afterwards, she struggled to even get behind the wheel.
Faizel never pushed her to race. Instead, he encouraged her and stood by her through every step of the process. For Cassim, drag racing was never about proving she was fearless. It was about refusing to let fear control her life.
"I've learnt that courage isn't the absence of fear, it's choosing to move forward despite it," she said. She hopes her story pushes others to confront whatever is holding them back, because there's no way to know what you're capable of until you try.
One misconception she often has to clear up is that she and Faizel are rivals on the track. They're not.
"We're never competing against one another, we're competing together," she explained. "We're each other's biggest supporters, both on and off the track."
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Earning respect in a male-dominated sport
Breaking into motorsport as a woman came with its own set of challenges. Cassim knew that respect wouldn't come from arguing her place in the sport; it would come from her results.
Rather than trying to prove anyone wrong, she focused on improving with every race, and the respect followed naturally. She also found something she wasn't necessarily expecting: a community that encouraged her, shared knowledge freely, and celebrated her wins alongside her.
There's one part of racing that still makes her smile, she told Briefly News:
"When the race is over, and I take my helmet off, the look on some of the guys' faces when they realise they've just raced against a woman is absolutely priceless," she said.
Building something bigger than a racing career
In 2011, Razia and Faizel co-founded Northern Natal Motorsport, driven by a desire to give others the same opportunities and friendships that motorsport had given them. The goal wasn't just to organise race meetings. It was to create a permanent home for the sport in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, somewhere people could race legally, safely, and in a welcoming environment.
That mission includes bringing more women and young people into the sport. Their own daughter began racing go-karts at Northern Natal Motorsport Raceway at just six years old and went on to become club champion for three consecutive years, proof, Cassim says, of what young people can achieve when they're given the chance.
Family-friendly racing sits at the heart of everything the couple builds. Their daughter attended her first race meeting when she was just six days old and grew up around the track long before she ever got behind the wheel of a go-kart herself. For Cassim, motorsport has always been a family affair, and she wants other families to feel that same sense of belonging when they walk through the gates.
"Records are made to be broken, but inspiring a young person to believe in themselves is something that lasts a lifetime," she said.
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What's next for Cassim
Looking ahead, Cassim hopes to see a South Africa where women in motorsport aren't treated as the exception, but simply as competitors, officials, and leaders judged on their skill.
On her personal social media pages like her Facebook account, Cassim continues to champion the sport as a space for everyone, encouraging women in particular to give racing a chance and inviting the public to come through and experience motorsport for themselves.
She's currently working towards a new goal of competing for a world record, while Faizel already holds one with his single lambda Volkswagen Scirocco. But for her, winning was never really the point.
"Trophies eventually gather dust, but the opportunities you create for others can change lives for generations," she said.
This feature forms part of Women of Wonder 2026: Steering the Story in SA Motoring, proudly sponsored by Cars.co.za. As a proudly South African brand, Cars.co.za is committed to celebrating and empowering the women shaping the future of motoring in South Africa.
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Proofreading by Kelly Lippke, copy editor at Briefly.co.za.
Source: Briefly News
