Asian Motor Sports

The Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in Midrand is gearing up to host its biggest motor racing weekend in recent years, the South African round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. It will be the first time this unique series, that pits nation against nation in virtually identical single seater Powered by Ferrari cars, has visited the home of South African motor sport.

A1GP Gauteng, South Africa is the fifth round of the 2008/09 season and will feature teams from at least 19 countries, including South Africa, in two races on Sunday, February 22 – a Sprint race at 1100 and a Feature race at 1500.

Kyalami, 24 km north of central Johannesburg in the province of Gauteng, is a world famous circuit that has hosted many of the world’s premier motor racing formulas, including Formula One, MotoGP and World Super Bikes. The newly-formed Gauteng Motor Sport Company, headed by former Formula One test driver Stephen Watson, are the promoters of the A1GP event and will also be bringing the sixth round of the FIM World Super Bike (SBK) championship to Kyalami on May 15, 16 and 17.

The circuit measures 4,26 km and is laid out in an anti-clockwise direction. There are 11 turns, which include three of the corners of the original grand prix circuit, built in 1961 and rated internationally as one of the great circuits in the world. These are the fast right-hander called Sunset (turn 4), the tight left-hander known as Clubhouse (turn 5) and the fast downhill Esses (turn 6).

The current circuit layout was built in 1991, with only one minor addition since, the building of a chicane at the penultimate corner (turn 10). It also features the intimidating downhill section known as The Mineshaft that links turns 7 and 8. The lap ends with a slow left-hander (turn 11) that leads on to the short pit straight and across the start/finish line before diving into the fast turns 1 and 2. Kyalami remains one of the most recognised names in world motor sport.

The fastest recorded race lap on the current circuit is 1 min 34,776 sec, set in 1998 in a Sports Racing World Cup event. Appropriately, it was in the legendary Ferrari 333 SP driven by Italian Mauro Baldi and should be bettered by the Powered by Ferrari A1GP cars.

The fastest single seater race lap on the current circuit was set at the GP Masters event in 2005 by Nigel Mansell in a Reynard with a time of 1:36,390.

The fastest lap time set by a South African national competitor is 1.41,752 by Cristiano Morgado in a Formula Volkswagen in July 2008.

Spectators are reminded that while normal parking facilities will be available at Kyalami on Friday, a ‘park and ride’ system will be in operation on Saturday and Sunday, February 21 and 22, and will operate in conjunction with a road closure plan.

There will be no public parking within the precincts of Kyalami on the Saturday and Sunday. Instead, remote parking sites will be set up and dedicated shuttle buses will run between these sites and their respective gates on a continual basis, ensuring rapid movement of race fans from their car parks to the circuit and back again.

Saturday and Sunday ticket holders should ensure that they park in the remote parking that relates to their grandstand ticket or the general admission area. This system has been colour-coded for easier interpretation and each ‘zone’ will include its own parking area, grandstands and amenities, including food concession areas and toilets.

Kyalami - which means “my home” in isiZulu - has been part of many motorsports’ world championships in the past, including many Formula One Grand Prix, Moto GP, nine-hour endurance, and World Superbike events.

The Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit opened in 1961 and currently hosts 10 national motorsport events. It is 4.26 kilometres in length.

A1GP CEO, Pete da Silva, commenting last year on the choice of Kyalami to host the South African A1GP said: “Gauteng is the economic powerhouse of the country and also the home of competitive sport, now including A1GP.

“The people of South Africa, and more especially Gauteng, can look forward to an event like no other. It will be a feast for the senses.”