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South African Motor Racing News
South African motor racing was given a long overdue shot in the arm last month when the world class Kyalami Race track hosted the A1GP for the first time. Long discarded as a preferred international venue for the really big league of motor racing, Formula One, Kyalami proved to both its detractors and supporters that it is indeed ready to host the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and the rest of the F1 racing daredevils.
Kyalami rises to the deafening sound of A1 racing
Right up until 1985, when South Africa’s entrenched apartheid policies raised the ire of the racing fraternity, Kyalami was the venue of the elite South African Grand Prix, but since then the deafening noise on the track has been silenced.
The 4,26km Midrand track did not belie its name (meaning "My Home" in Zulu) when teams from all over the globe took part in the A1GP. Even Brazil’s favourite racing son, Felipe Massa, was on hand at the anti-clockwise track to give his A1 compatriot a couple of tips before the race.
Although South Africa had to acquiesce to the flair and sheer velocity of Team Netherlands on the day, it was a heavenly and historic moment for auto racing in South Africa.
Formula Vee National Champs at the Phakisa Freeway soon
The incumbent king of the national Formula Vee championship, Dennis Johns, is back on home turf in an attempt to defend his title and there is an entire harem of consummate drivers out there to test the young man’s nerves and skill.
Formula Vee is the baby brother of motor sport, with the class based on the precocious and enduring 1963 VW Beetle. Although the likes of Barrichello and Button may well scoff at the lowly and inexpensive formula, it has proved to have tremendous stamina in the popularity stakes of both drivers and its ever-growing fan base.
The national championship takes place at the Phakisa Freeway on March 14, a track that has often been likened to the hugely acclaimed Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Nevada. The Free State track is rated as one of the safest circuits on the GP tour and MotoGP, organisers of the World Grand Prix circuit, believe it is a superb venue and one of the best in the world – yet another accolade for the resurgent South African auto-racing sector.
Apart from the signature race, fans are in for a dynamic mix of single seater, sports, GT and saloon racing including
- Historic saloon cars
- Historic sports and GT cars
- Formula GTi & 250cc Super Karts
- Club championship events for Formula Libre single-seaters & Marque cars
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