Formula 1 in SA: The race to get Kyalami back on the calendar

Key topics.Excitement for a Formula 1 race in South Africa has turned into disappointment.New Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie is pushing for F1 talks and Kyalami's bid.Competing bids emerge, with Rwanda now leading for an African F1 race..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..The seventh BizNews Conference, BNC#7, is to be held in Hermanus from March 11 to 13, 2025. The 2025 BizNews Conference is designed to provide an excellent opportunity for members of the BizNews community to interact directly with the keynote speakers, old (and new) friends from previous BNC events – and to interact with members of the BizNews team. Register for BNC#7 here..If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up for the BizNews channel here..By Miles Downard.South African motorsport fans have been through the ringer over the last few years with waves of excitement around the chance to host a Formula 1 race. Unfortunately those waves have all crashed ashore carrying nothing other than foamy disappointment. .The latest bout of excitement came from an unlikely source within our GNU, with the appointment of a new Minister of sports, arts and culture in Gayton McKenzie. The chap has come out swinging across all aspects of his new portfolio, axing "Superfans", redistributing funds, asking some tough questions and, most relevantly, reigniting talks with F1's holding company, Liberty Media..After McKenzie visited Baku last year, the chances of SA being added to the F1 calendar in the near future were looking quite positive and Kyalami appeared the preferred option. ."The race is going to happen at Kyalami," McKenzie told Supersport. "Kyalami is doing what they need to do. Toby Venter and Willie Venter are doing a great job bringing Kyalami to F1 standards. They have put money in there, it is there.".But, it seems this action ruffled some feathers, sparking other politically and otherwise connected persons to muddy the waters. Various media outlets reported a flurry of activity from otherwise dormant bidders. The outcome of this was a bit of backtracking from the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture, who on 17 January opened a request for expressions of interest for a race to be held in 2026 or 2027. .The deadline for bids was originally January 31, but this has now been extended to March 18 as the original date was quite tight and there were fears that not all bids would be in good order..The cat is now amongst the pigeons, I'm afraid..Speculation is that there are three main contenders. The first is the obvious choice, Kyalami. Next up is from local promoter Cape Town Grand Prix SA, which intends to use the same location as Formula E did back in 2023, on a 5.7km circuit that runs around the DHL Stadium. Incidentally, that race no longer exists because the costs involved did not make it financially viable..Then things get really silly. The third bid is expected out of the Eastern Cape, from a Wakanda City consortium. The aim is to eventually host a street circuit race near Sunday's River in the Eastern Cape Nelson Mandela Bay Couga Port region. However, since that development won't be complete for at least the next 10 years, Wakanda City's CEO, MK Malefane is expected to propose hosting a race in Cape Town..This is not the first we've heard from Malefane. Last year, he said, "We have been left with little option but to go directly to Formula 1 and the FIA with our concerns," after feeling that no due process had been followed in Gayton McKenzie arriving at Kyalami as the logical host for F1's return to South Africa. .You simply cannot make this stuff up. It seems that aside from a select few who are actually committed to seeing out a successful bid with Formula One, others in the country simply want to disrupt a good thing. Kyalami's bid needs to be fast tracked and submitted to the FIA and Liberty Media if we are to have any hope. The circuit is established, and in need of relatively minor changes to accommodate Formula One, but more importantly has the backing necessary to make it happen..Broadening the horizons a bit, Rwanda is now considered the leading bidder for a race on African soil after formally launching its bid in December. A circuit is planned for the capital, Kigali, and is currently being designed by ex F1 driver Alexander Wurz..So, while South Africa continues to stumble over its own feet, the door is open for other candidates to gain momentum. .Read more:.Exploring Elephant Point with the VW TouaregFord Territory: Another compelling SUV enters the SA marketTurbo charging efforts to bring F1 racing back to SA in 2023 – Motorsport SA's Anton Roux

Formula 1 in SA: The race to get Kyalami back on the calendar

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