South African GP to return?

[ChemicalChaos]

... or so claims the media:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/formulaone/artic...

I'm in 2 minds about this. Kyalami is a great track with loads of F1 history and it would be good to see it return.

However, this is the country who's government is so corrupt and inept that they are rapidly turning the place into Zimbabwe..... and yet they think they are going to have the money and the management to successfully host a GP?

[TheDeuce]

F1 is missing a race in the African continent, I can see it happening. The world inclusive climate is right, and who knows - further injections of Western culture might help out longer term too. In the early noughties SA was seen as an up and up place, adopting a lot of Western culture and then it all sort of went off the rails a bit. I think it's because they adopted a lot of Western culture (casinos, Malls etc) but the national wealth level wasn't able to sustain it all.

The whole covid debacle over there also showed genuine willingness to be more modern and relevant on the world stage - apparently their sharing of data was thorough and top rate, but sheer economics screwed them in terms of managing the outbreaks. No doubt part due to corruption and embezzlement. Then again... shining a spotlight on a country does tend to help improve such practices over time.

I'm all for it, an African continent GP please. It doesn't matter if it works out well straight away or if it does harm/good - it's a global sport so should be on the continent regardless - and then make of it what can be made of it over time. Nothing gets started until you start it.

[FourWheelDrift]

Kyalami was a great circuit, then they cut it up, built over it and made a glorified kart Formula E track out of it before FE existed.

Old circuit layout in red.

Edited by FourWheelDrift on Saturday 11th June 14:14

[F1GTRUeno]

Kyalami in its current form wasn't good enough in 1992/3 so now I'd imagine would be terribly suited to a race.

[entropy]

FourWheelDrift said:

Kyalami was a great circuit, then they cut it up, built over it and made a glorified kart Formula E track out of it before FE existed.

Old circuit layout in red.

Edited by FourWheelDrift on Saturday 11th June 14:14

Thanks for this. I've always wondered how Kyalami was 'reconfigured'.

Maybe rose-tinted specs but I thought the circuit was decent little track in the early 90s despite being a bit fiddly on paper and no good overtaking spots.

1993 sticks in my mind most perhaps for being Hill's debut and the return of the much missed Prost. I remember the odd midday start time, a scramble for the lead into the first corner, the disappointment of Hill's off, and being impressed by Schumacher.

In the mid-2000s there was the inaugural GP Masters (racing version of Tennis Masters; drivers of yesteryear) held at Kyalami. IIRC there was barely any overtaking but it was still a fascinating procession. Alan Jones dropped out of the last minute I seem to recall because of his fitness.

[Ahonen]

FourWheelDrift said:

Kyalami was a great circuit, then they cut it up, built over it and made a glorified kart Formula E track out of it before FE existed.

Old circuit layout in red.

Edited by FourWheelDrift on Saturday 11th June 14:14

I've raced there a few times since its most recent rebuild. It's a very good track in its current iteration and nothing like a glorified kart or FE track in any way at all. All the top line GT3 drivers love it because it has a great blend of pretty fast turns and elevation changes with a really good flow - and I'm talking about the Nordschleife guys like all the factory Porsche, Mercedes and Audi drivers. Pre-Covid the WEC was looking to race there too.

For F1 it's probably a bit small these days though.

[thegreenhell]

It's only FIA Grade 2 at the moment, so they'll have to spend some money on it to upgrade if they want F1 to go there again.

[entropy]

Zandoort was previously Grade II so its going to come down to how desperate they are for a SAGP.

[entropy]

According to Warren Scheckter (nephew of Jody) its predominantly private sector backing.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/africa/61816829

[coppice]

I have long thought it reflected badly on F1 that it was happy to race at Kyalami and elsewhere - eg East London - during the apartheid era but last raced in SA in 1993 , the year before apartheid ended. I'm sure there there is a far bigger appetite for live motorsport in SA than in some of the countries who stage Grands Prix to near deserted stands . Kyalami will for ever be tainted for me by the loss of two of my favourite drivers - Peter Revson and Tom Pryce , both of whom I saw take their first F1 wins - but I would still relish a return.

[Leithen]

The old circuit was fast.

[AndySA]

A lap of the new track layout by Daniel Riccardo in 2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-i8aZxnac0

[WonkeyDonkey]

I've only ever driven Kyalami on ACC, but it's one of the best tracks in the game.

Politics aside, I'd love to see F1 round there. Glorified FE it is not.

[mat205125]

In principle, the return to the African continent would be a great adventure for the circus, and should be supported and encouraged.

I'm not sure that there is a strong justification for that to the at Kyalami other than nostalgia, and for it being the best (least bad) current facility.

Would there ever be sufficient interest and investment to follow the middle eastern model, and build a brand new facility on some acreage of empty space somewhere?

An important consideration, which the host nation would need to tackle, would be the ability to assure the safety of drivers, teams and visiting spectators to the region. It's the potential to be a PR and safety disaster if this couldn't be controlled.

Sao Paulo is borderline in this regard, and that has the attraction of being an established and beloved round of the championship.

[Sandpit Steve]

Veteran F1 Hack Joe Saward, writing in his latest newsletter, reckons that Kyalami is pencilled in for next year’s calendar. https://joesaward.wordpress.com/2022/06/22/green-n...
(Alongside a lot of other calendar rumours, 2023 could look quite different)