Featured image credit: Matthias Wesselmann on Unsplash
Cape Town GP, the organisation seeking to bring Formula 1 back to South Africa, has detailed revised circuit plans, with a new role for DHL Stadium to play.
The news comes with the South African Government expected to make a decision by the end of the month over which project to back – Cape Town’s street circuit proposal or a return to what had been F1’s previous destination in the country, Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit near Johannesburg.
Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, in December launched a bid steering committee designed to secure South Africa’s return to the Formula 1 calendar. The process is now coming to a head, with two main contenders.
F1 has not raced in South Africa since 1993, when Kyalami was the destination, and Rwanda is another strong contender as the championship’s stakeholders seek to deliver on long-held ambitions to return to the continent.
Cape Town’s proposal, drawn up by renowned motorsport facility design group Tilke, is for a 5.7km street circuit winding around Green Point harbour and utilising facilities around DHL Stadium built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
“The latest design has all the bells and whistles,” Cape Town GP CEO Igshaan Amlay told Autosport. “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.”
However, the vision for the circuit has changed from earlier proposals, which had envisioned F1 cars racing through DHL Stadium itself, akin to how the Mexico City Grand Prix uses the Estadio GNP Seguros.
Instead, Amlay revealed that a Cape Town GP is now set to be similar in nature to the Miami GP, whose Miami International Autodrome winds around Hard Rock Stadium while also utilising some of the facilities of the home of the NFL’s Dolphins.
“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,” said Amlay. “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.”
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