Kyalami set for A1GP thriller
6 February 2009
The ferocious whine of authoritative V8 Ferrari engines will fill the air when the A1 Grand Prix World Cup of Motorsport comes to Kyalami in Johannesburg later this month. Motorsport fans are in for a weekend of top-class entertainment.
The A1GP features fierce competition, in a nation-versus-nation format, in virtually identical cars. The Kyalami event takes place over three days, from 20 to 22 February, and will be broadcast to millions of people around the globe.
Simon Zwane, a spokesman for Gauteng Premier Paul Mashatile, says the A1GP offers a lot to the province. "The event is expected to stimulate investment extensively and herald economic, social and tourism spin-offs for the Joburg metro and the entire province."
Massive economic potential
Mashatile says that hosting an event of the stature of the A1GP signals the beginning of the development of motorsport as one of the sectors with massive potential to boost the province's economic growth.
Hopes are high that the A1GP will serve as a catalyst for the creation of an assortment of jobs in the motorsport, logistical, security and infrastructure sectors.
"The event will prove that Gauteng is the place to be for competitive sport and can compare internationally with other areas," Zwane says.
Gauteng's association with the A1GP is aligned with its approach to supporting the automotive sector as one of the critical pillars of the provincial economy.
'An investment and tourism destination'
The aim is to promote Gauteng as an investment and tourism destination, Zwane explains. "This event will provide stimulus for the economy, and that's why we got involved."
On a purely entertainment level, the grand prix will give the many local petrol heads the chance to experience the pulsating throb of motorsport in the comfort of their own country.
Unlike the popular Formula 1, the A1GP requires more of a team effort and pits nations rather than teams against each other; ultimately there are three winners - the individual driver, the team and the nation.
V8 Ferrari power
This season, the A1GP cars are powered by V8 Ferrari engines, while the chassis is based on the design of Ferrari's 2004 F1 car.
During the A1GP, 23 drivers from different countries will take to the tracks to compete on an equal footing of finance and technology, making the success of the race entirely dependent on the driver's skills and the ability of the teams' pit crews to get the maximum possible performances out of their cars as relates to the specific circuit being raced upon.
Two events make up an A1GP weekend: a short sprint race, followed by a feature race. At Kyalami, the sprint starts at 11:00 on Sunday morning for a maximum of 19 minutes plus one lap, while the feature race lasts a maximum of 69 minutes plus one lap. It runs from 15:00 until 16:10, and points are awarded to the top 10 finishers.
About Kyalami
Kyalami, 24 kilometres 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 15, 16, 17 May.
The circuit measures 4.26-kilometres in length 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.
Fastest lap
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; it 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.
Tickets
Tickets are selling fast for the Kyalami event and some of the grandstands are already fully booked. Grandstand and general admission tickets can only be obtained from branches of Computicket around the country or on the Computicket website.
Tickets for the first day are R100 for gold grandstands, R80 for silver grandstands and R60 for general seating. On Saturday tickets are R150, R135 and R100, and on Sunday they are R500, R300 and R170, respectively.
They can be bought at any Shoprite store or at any Computicket outlet countrywide. For credit card bookings telephone Computicket on 083 915 8000 or 011 340 8000, or visit the Computicket website.Visit the Computicket seating plan to check seating arrangements.
'Park and ride'
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, 21 and 22 February, 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.
For further information and illustrated maps of the park and ride system and road closures, please visit A1GP: The World Cup of Motorsport or Kyalami Racing.
Saturday's qualifying will be broadcast live on SABC3 from 13:30 to 16:00 and Sunday’s sprint and feature races will be broadcast from 13:00 to 17:30 (the recorded sprint race will be screened from 13:00 while the feature race will be live from 14h00).
Sources: City of Johannesburg and A1GP.com
