Summarize

The prospect of a South African Grand Prix return has stolen the headlines on the back of Minister of Sports Art and Culture Gayton McKenzie meeting with F1 and FIA leaders in Baku last week. It has also emerged that several possibilities exist with a view to hosting the race. Among them, the new Wakanda Smart City now insists on a free and fair parliamentary bid process to determine who should host a future Grand Prix.

“We are spearheading a bid to host the future South African Grand Prix at the new Wakanda Smart City,” bid director MK Malefane confirmed. “We are not the only group ready to make a bid to run the South African Grand Prix, but we have the backing and the funds to run the race without dipping into government coffers. All we now seek is the free and fair opportunity to present our case as part of a clear selection process.

“Our biggest challenge is that it seems that there is a preferred bidder and that there is an attempt to rush that bid through, let’s just call it under the carpet. That would be neither free, nor fair. It is no secret that South Africa’s Minister of Sports Art and Culture Gayton McKenzie visited last weekend’s Baku Grand Prix and met with FIA and Formula 1 bosses with a view to joining the race for an African Grand Prix against the likes of Morocco and Rwanda.

“However, despite our best efforts to contact the minister to present our case and suggest a proper bidding process, we have thus far run into a brick wall. We believe that there is much merit in our bid and that we indeed tick more boxes than most. All we ask is that our bid be considered and that the best bid wins. 

“The South African Grand Prix is a treasure,” Malefane continues. “The future of Formula 1 is of national significance in South Africa and it now appears that through minister McKenzie, government has a hand in bringing the race back. As such, we therefor expect nothing less than a parliamentary process, not some back door deal, to decide the future of the race, who runs it, and where it happens. We look forward to entering into such a process.”

The Wakanda City South African Grand Prix bid is the centrepiece of the future smart city in the Eastern Cape. Styled on the likes of Dubai, Singapore and Monaco, Wakanda will be developed on an idyllic 20,000 hectare beachfront site near Sunday’s River. It will comprise Ferrari and Safari themed parks, Hollywood and Disney type movie studios and a marina lagoon resort in typical African style. And it will be home to Formula 1 and the Grand Prix, as much as it will be a hub of local South African motor racing.

Adjacent to another Eastern Cape success story in the Couga Port and Industrial Zone with all their amenities supporting infrastructure, including an international airport, a cruise liner terminal and superyacht basin, a Wakanda City racetrack ticks all the boxes, including Formula 1’s penchant for street circuits, as the ideal venue for a future South African Grand Prix. 

The Eastern Cape is of course the spiritual home of the South African Grand Prix. The first races were in East London, where organisers delivered some incredible events from the first 1934 GP to the 1966 race, some would say to astounding effect, and against all odds.

“Wakanda City is a multi-billion dollar project. We have all the funds in place, not only to commence with development, but to also build the state of the art circuit and run a Formula 1 Grand Prix to the highest international standards. All we now need is the free and fair opportunity to bid to host the Grand Prix alongside any other bids, at parliamentary level,” MK Malefane concludes. “We are confident that our most compelling prospect will be a winning bid.”