Kyalami's F1x2 spectacular
28 July 2004
South Africa's famous Kyalami International Raceway is set to host a world first. The spine-tingling, ravenous scream of Formula One engines will again grace the Johannesburg circuit as the first-ever two-seater Formula One Grand Prix takes place on African soil.
The Altech South African Formula One Two-Seater Grand Prix - running over the long weekend of 6-9 August - will feature eight cars, driven by top name drivers, each with a passenger who will no doubt experience the most thrilling, scary, adrenaline rush of a lifetime.
The highlight of the programme takes place on Monday 9 August, when there will be back-to-back 10-lap races featuring Minardi's fleet of eight two-seater Formula One cars - the first time this has ever happened.
The cars are being provided by Paul Stoddart, owner of the Minardi Formula One team.
Stoddart is not only giving South African motorsport fans a spectacle to drool over, he is also helping charity in a
big way. Gate money will benefit the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund and crisis food relief programme Unite Against Hunger, and local businesses are invited to get involved by sponsoring a car for the race weekend or supporting the many hospitality packages on offer.
Personal invite from Mandela
"I am calling on the Formula One heroes of the world, past and present, to take time out of their busy schedules to join us in South Africa for the South African Grand Prix", Mandela said.
Stoddart will also be prodding his colleagues in Formula One to make the trip to South Africa.
Retired Formula One star Johnny Herbert has already been confirmed for the event. The former Benetton, Lotus, Sauber, Stewart, and Jaguar driver boasts vast experience. He contested 160 grands prix during his career, winning three of them, and finished fourth in the F1 Championship in 1995. Herbert is also a hugely successful sports car driver and a former Le Mans
winner. He currently drives for Audi.
Also winging their way to South Africa will be current Williams-BMW test driver Marc Gene, former Ferrari, Jaguar and Jordan F1 driver Eddie Irvine, and West McLaren Mercedes third driver Alex Wurz.
Irvine and Wurz will be special guests at the event, and are not currently scheduled to drive the F1x2 cars.
Minardi will also be bringing a number of drivers out to Kyalami, including Nicolas Kiesa, Gianmaria "Gimmi" Bruni, and Bas Leinders.
One man who is sure to attract plenty of local support is current British F3 champion Alan van der Merwe. He proved very popular with the Kyalami crowd in June when he drove one of the two Formula One two-seaters that were paraded at the circuit.
'Ride of a lifetime'
The Formula One two-seaters sport V10 engines and give the passenger a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience the thrill of a real life Formula One event.
"This event is a
chance to give something back to the sport in which it competes, while allowing the people who really matter, the fans, the opportunity to get closer than normal to the cars and drivers they support", said Stoddart.
"I think that South Africans are in for the ride of their lives as the Formula One fever moves up a gear in the coming months."
Besides a festival of motorsport action, there will plenty of other attractions, including an international extreme-sports competition and a music spectacular, to wow the expected 100 000 strong crowd.
Tickets are available through Computicket, with costs for the Grand Prix weekend ranging from R165 to R380.
Commented Mandela: "Not only will this event be a landmark for South Africa, which last heard the sound of Formula 1 engines 10 years ago, but also we will be able to support the children who benefit from the charities."
History of Formula One
X2
During the late 1990s, Australian-born and UK-based aviation magnate Paul Stoddart built a F1 manufacturing and race team facility adjacent to the headquarters of his European Aviation Group in the Herefordshire town of Ledbury.
After several seasons in Formula One as a team sponsor, his plan was to buy or start his own F1 operation, and he wanted to be ready.
Stoddart eventually lost out in his attempt to purchase and continue running the Tyrrell F1 team in a bidding war with British American Tobacco, who sought the franchise as the basis for an all-new team.
With an F1-class factory in place, the doughty Australian went in search of another project to showcase its capabilities.
While the inspiration for the two-seater clearly came from McLaren's pioneering design, Stoddart was determined to make the concept available to a much larger audience and decided to build no less than eight cars.
Using the last Tyrrell F1 design as a
starting point, a young crew of engineers team made the most of Ledbury's new CAD/CAM drawing office to produce a new car meeting all the latest FIA F1 technical and safety regulations.
The most notable feature of the car was a significantly wider chassis for added safety and to provide space for passengers up to 188 centimetres in height.
The crashworthiness of the design was proven in the programme's only accident to date, an airborne incident which left both the driver and passenger totally unhurt. Indeed, that passenger returned for another ride in 2002!
Power would be provided by a substantial quantity of 700-horsepower Ford Cosworth V10 engines previously used by the Stewart Grand Prix team. These were purchased in a job lot including spares and supported by a team of Cosworth engineers seconded to Europe's new in-house engine preparation and development shop.
A year later, the units came in more than handy when Stoddart needed an engine for his newly
acquired Formula 1 team.
The first season of two-seater activities was associated with the Arrows Formula 1 team, with which the European Formula Racing F3000 team was also linked. With Stoddart's purchase of the Minardi F1 team in early 2001, this relationship was dissolved and the programme rebranded.
Since then, F1x2 events have been run to a format based on procedures used in F1 test sessions, with a dedicated crew supported by a fully-equipped pit and/or garage, transporter trucks, and hospitality area.
Passenger activities include a guided garage tour, circuit briefing from the drivers, personal seat fitting, multi-lap ride, photo session, and VIP motor home or suite hospitality. Passengers also receive souvenir gift packs containing a ride certificate plus personalised photographs and video (an on-board camera is mounted in every car).
SouthAfrica.info reporter
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