Latest news with #Amlay
The South African
05-07-2025
- Business
- The South African
Cape Town organisers fuming over ‘flawed' SA F1 GP bid process
It's been quite a fortnight for the SA F1 GP bid. Initially, news was upbeat when the Kyalami GP Circuit's upgrades were approved by the FIA. Described as 'soft-touch' enhancements by officials, all looked on track for a successful 2028 SA F1 GP bid. Then reports emerged that Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie was jetting off to last weekend's Austrian GP. His goal was to ratify the Kyalami SA F1 GP bid with Formula One Management (FOM) as soon as possible. However, there was made no mention made of a Cape Town Grand Prix South Africa (CTGPSA) bid being prepared in parallel. A Cape Town Grand Prix would have followed the circuit that Formula E raced on successfully two years' ago. Image: File Now, CTGPSA officials are calling the SA F1 GP bid process 'flawed' and calling into question the Sports Minister's conduct. Accused of favouring the Kyalami Circuit, CTGPSA CEO Igshaan Amlay has come out swinging, reports TopAuto . Amlay envisaged a high-profile F1 race on a Herman Tilke-designed track in and around the streets of Cape Town's DHL Stadium. The race would draw tourists from all over the world and the unrivalled beauty of the Atlantic seaboard would make for stunning TV coverage. However, with the Sports Minister suddenly jetting off to Austria to shore-up the Kyalami GP race in Gauteng, Amlay says he is entirely disillusioned with the SA F1 GP bid process. A Cape Town F1 race would have been more scenic for TV coverage and a more attractive tourist destination for international visitors. Image: File Furthermore, Amlay explains that the SA F1 GP Bid Steering Committee (BSC) required a R10 million deposit for all applications to bring an event to the country. When he asked what the SA F1 GP bid money was for, the BSC gave no explanation or timeline other than it would be refunded if unsuccessful. 'Payment of R10 million to support an open SA F1 GP bid should not be the determining factor. We were given fewer than 10 days to submit our entire proposal, including the R10-million deposit. And we take issue with Gayton McKenzie's remarks that a future F1 race would happen at Kyalami, well before the BSC was even created,' Amlay said. 1993 is the last time an F1 race was held in South Africa. Image: File As a result, the CTGPSA CEO believes the entire SA F1 GP bid process was inherently biased towards the Kyalami Circuit from the start. In response to Amlay's accusations, the Department of Sports, Arts, and Culture has labelled them as 'utterly baseless.' Furthermore, the department says all submissions were judged fairly. 'All bids were judged fairly and objectively by the BSC. And the minister was not a part of that process in any way. As such, CTGPSA's allegations are utterly baseless,' the department said. Kyalami GP Circuit owners and government officials await to hear FOM's verdict on a future in Africa. Image: File Interestingly, the sport's supremo Stefano Domenicali recently confirmed that a successful 2028 SA F1 GP bid must replace an existing race. This is because the F1 race calendar cannot exceed the allotment of 24 races annually. Also, the FIA and FOM are looking for sustainable races. As such, the sport does not want to come to a particular location for only one or two years and leave. Likewise, South Africa isn't the only country looking to join the F1 calendar. Rwanda has been long talked about. And there's an exciting new street race in Bangkok, Thailand. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Latest Cape Town F1 proposal aims to build on World Cup legacy
Motorsport photo The South African government is nearing a decision on which bid to support as it aims to bring Formula 1 back to the country. Organisers behind Cape Town's bid have detailed the latest changes to their street race proposal. Advertisement Earlier bids to revive the South African Grand Prix at Kyalami have failed, but the country's government has promised a new push to bring the series back to the African powerhouse, opening up a bid process earlier this year. A return to a refurbished Kyalami, which last hosted F1 in 1993, and a proposed street race around Cape Town's waterfront appear to be the two main contenders to receive public backing, with a deadline for the bid committee's decision set for the end of April. Cape Town's bid is hoping the central, urban location of its Tilke-designed 5.7km circuit, snaking around the Green Point harbour and utilising the facilities around the DHL Stadium built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, will help it get across the line. "The latest design has all the bells and whistles," Cape Town GP CEO Igshaan Amlay told "It's partly on the waterfront and it also uses the facilities that have been used for the football World Cup. "We meet all the requirements, with the airport 15 to 20 minutes away from the circuit; we've got a top hospital on site and plenty of hotels within walking distance. What also plays a big role is the natural backdrops of Robben Island, the waterfront and Table Mountain. Cape Town has a lot to offer as our top holiday destination. "We're up against Kyalami, which has a rich Formula 1 history, so it's a street race versus a purpose-built circuit. We'll be waiting to see what the decision will be. Here we could easily accommodate 250,000 people, so it makes it more accessible to more people." Cape Town GP layout Cape Town GP layout Tilke GmbH Tilke GmbH Advertisement Contrary to previous proposals, the latest design would not take the circuit through the DHL Stadium itself but run alongside it, using the venue for the paddock, media centre and hospitality areas. "The purpose of running through the stadium was that it can take a capacity of up to 70,000 people and our intention was to make it accessible to people that can never afford to go to a Formula 1 race," Amlay explained. "After speaking to the circuit's designers, there are a few obstacles and it would be better to actually run along the circuit. "DHL Stadium will be used for the paddocks and the media centre. Everything that was set up for the football World Cup will be reactivated, and it's already existent within the stadium, so we will make full use of it. We will still run through the original Green Point athletics stadium, which has a rich legacy." Even if the government backs either Cape Town or Kyalami, the prospects of an actual F1 return to South Africa are still murky as it would take a compelling bid to convince F1 that it ticks all the right boxes, with the country facing competition from the likes of Thailand, Rwanda and South Korea for a place on the calendar from 2028 and beyond. There are also question marks over how much funding the event will be able to raise through private and public means, with potential corporate sponsors awaiting the government's bid decision. Advertisement "I think Formula 1 has always been looking at getting a race on the African continent, and Lewis Hamilton has also spoken out in favour of it. If you really want to be a world championship, you need a race on the African continent, whether it is in Cape Town, Kyalami or in another African country," Amlay said. "It should have a positive impact on our economy and tourism sector, not only for the city but for the country as a whole." Read Also: Alonso likens Suzuka to uneventful Monaco, amid overtaking drought Why dirty air is such a problem in F1 2025 Amlay has been working on his project of bringing F1 to Cape Town for over two decades to no avail, having previously held talks with then-F1-supremo Bernie Ecclestone, but he feels the momentum is now there to finally realise his dream as F1's popularity has scaled new heights. Advertisement "We've never shied away from any criticism. Whenever people criticised us, we looked at it seriously and made a few changes," he added. "When we pitched the idea in 2016, we had interest from various sponsors and investors. The big problem we had was we didn't get the government's backing. But now there is a big push, and we have a huge following from the younger generation, who have been following Formula 1 and have been supportive of it. "We've come a long way since first envisaging the concept back in 1999, but we've always believed in it. If you believe in something and you persevere, then it will happen."
