By: Double Apex
There has been plenty of chatter recently regarding a Formula One race in South Africa. The latest round of rumours were fuelled by a visit of Formula One Group CEO Stefano Domenicali to the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit earlier this week.
Double Apex caught up with Warren Scheckter, who is the CEO of SAGP, while he was in Johannesburg. SAGP is a company that has been working behind the scenes for years to bring a race back to the African continent. The last time F1 raced on SA soil was in 1993.
SAGP may not be known to most racing enthusiasts so an intro may help. The company consists of 1979 F1 World Champion Jody Scheckter (founding president), motorsports professional Warren Scheckter (founder & CEO) and former SABMiller corporate finance director, Keith Doig (executive director). Included are a number of, as yet unnamed, shareholders who are key players in the event.
Scheckter was in South Africa at the time of writing and in an interview he shared information regarding the potential of a race at Kyalami.
“First up, I have to let you know that an F1 race in SA has not yet been confirmed. There are many things that need to take place before we can make a formal announcement. Also, there isn’t one deal that needs to be signed for it to happen, there are several deals that need to be formalised,” said Scheckter. “We have read plenty of posts recently with all sorts of speculation about the event, but we are still a while away from being able to share any confirmation.”
There are several key stakeholders steering an SA F1 GP towards fruition. These include Gauteng Province, SA Tourism, Formula One, SAGP and Kyalami as the venue.
Read the full interview on Double Apex