There are few people in this world who are as unreservedly passionate about cars as South Africa’s iconic F1 Man, Sasha Martinengo. It’s no surprise then that he was chosen to be the face behind the wheel on South Africa’s most socially engaging road trip ever. At around 12:45 today, 3 December 2012, Martinengo embarked on a journey from Johannesburg to Cape Town with Grace, a Classic 1958 Triumph 3a, and nothing but the power of the twittersphere to get them there.
The 1,600km, 6-day journey is the 3rd leg of the Caltex with Techron® social campaign, which has been hosted on Facebook and Twitter. Phase 1 and 2 invited the public to vote for the car of their choice and then help Martinengo pack for his trip, select his playlists, and offer any useful advice. Everything about the journey, including where he eats, has been placed in the hands of the public. Without public participation, Martinengo and Grace could be left completely stranded.
Martinengo says, “I am calling on all South Africans to help me on my way, please tweet @CaltexSA and engage on Facebook to #KeepItGoing. Without your tweets and suggestions the journey will be pretty boring and I may end up living in a cellar of a 1900’s monument somewhere between Kroonstad and Graaff Reinet.”
In Martinengo’s typical spirit of fun he adds, “I have opened myself up to daily challenges which include; an ostrich ride, a Gangnam style dance with service station attendants, road trip karaoke, social eye spy and a series of dares provided by followers on Twitter, so get Tweeting.”
Each time your little birdie tweets #KeepItGoing to @CaltexSA, one litre of Caltex with Techron® is added to the tank and you increase your chance of winning the R4,000 daily prize.
Yes – you read that correctly. There is a daily prize up for grabs, along with other spot prizes via the social networks. Watch out for the padkos challenge, names on wheels game, guess the mileage to nextstops, and guess the colour of cars driving by. There is also a R10,000 cash prize up for grabs. For more details, visit the Caltex SA Facebook page or join the conversation with @CaltexSA and @F1sasha.
You will also be able to view Martinengo’s progress, check out his fuel tank status, watch videos of all the weird stuff he gets up to, and see the crazy people he encounters along the way. This promises to be an epic road trip so get tweeting!
Image 1 by Caltex SA
image 2 by @disifensham
