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Cape Town female racer to take on ex-F1 driver

<B>READY TO RACE:</B> Cape Town racer Andrea Bate will take on former F1 driver Mika Salo in this weekend's episode of Test my Ride filmed at Killarney circuit. <i>Image: Reynard Gelderblom</i>
<B>READY TO RACE:</B> Cape Town racer Andrea Bate will take on former F1 driver Mika Salo in this weekend's episode of Test my Ride filmed at Killarney circuit. <i>Image: Reynard Gelderblom</i>
Reynard Gelderblom

Cape Town - A serious accident may have placed her racing aspirations on hold in 2016, but motorsport fans can still catch Andrea Bate on motorsport reality show ,Test My Ride Cape Town, this upcoming weekend.

After six months of recovery and rehabilitation the Team Africa Le Mans driver is in high spirits ahead of the seventh episode of the television show which has become a cult phenomenon amongst petrolheads in South Africa .

'True gentlemen of motorsport'

The show features 10 Cape Town based car tuners and drivers taking on former Formula 1 and FIA World Endurance Championship driver Mika Salo.

It has been dubbed 'Top Gear meets Fast & Furious', as each competitor goes up against Salo in their own car around the Killarney International Raceway for lap-time honours while bonus points are also awarded for car characteristics like performance, looks and handling. The show was recorded during September and October 2015 – prior to Bate’s accident.

The popular Cape Town woman racer was recently spotted at the second round of the Mopar African Endurance Cape 3 Hour race and said this about the show: "As you can understand we (the contestants) may not divulge any information regarding the final results, but we’re heading towards quite an exciting conclusion to this season of Test My Ride.

"Mika is one of the true gentlemen of motorsport and it was a real honour to take on the clock against him in my VW Golf. Thus far the ratings for this season have been very good and I’d really like to congratulate Patrick Walton and his team on this on this action-packed production."

Bate also shared some insight into her own recovery: “At this point we’re not saying more than it’s going along well. Yes we will provide more information at a later stage, but for now we don’t want to make any speculations. I would like to thank everyone for their support and well-wishes. 

Episode 7 of Test My Ride Cape Town airs at 7pm on Saturday, May 21 on Ignition TV Channel 189. Repeats of the episode are also scheduled throughout the week.

More information about Test My Ride and the Cape Town season can be found on the show’s website.  

Fans of the show are also encouraged to engage on social media via the Facebook page  as well as on Twitter.

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