How Killarney, 70, got up to speed
SA’s second-oldest race circuit has an illustrious history
AS THE second-oldest circuit in South Africa that is still in use (only the East London Grand Prix Circuit predates it), the Killarney International Raceway has a long and sometimes dramatic history. But it got its start – 70 years ago this month – almost by accident.
In 1947 the then Divisional Council upgraded the main road to Malmesbury, bypassing a section of the existing road at the Potsdam Outspan. This disused stretch, lined with bluegums, was then acquired by the Metropolitan Motorcycle and Car Club for sprint racing – now known as drag racing.
The strip was soon extended via a hairpin at the north end, a short straight parallel to the strip and a triangular loop to the west, to form a tight circuit of a little more than a kilometre – and Killarney racetrack was born.
Two more loops – to the north and south – were added during the 1950s, a scrambles (motocross) track was built in the bush to the south-west and the original group of sprint racers formed the drag section, to create South Africa’s first true motorsport complex.
But then the Mets club overreached itself; club president C Stanley Damp and chairman Raymond Rieder negotiated a huge loan of £20 000 (then equivalent to R40 000) with the Cape Divisional Council and built a new Formula One circuit on the same site. It was designed by a former racing driver Edgar Hoal, after whom Hoal’s Hoek (Turn 1) is named.
The first Cape Grand Prix at Killarney was run on December 17, 1960, featuring international drivers Stirling Moss, Jo Bonnier and Taffy von Trips. Stars in 1961 included Jim Clark and Trevor Taylor. Despite spectator attendances of 10 000 to 12 000, both races ran at a loss and the Mets defaulted on their loan repayments to the council.
With the circuit under imminent threat of repossession, an inter-club committee was formed under the chairmanship of Adrian Pheiffer, with Denis Joubert as secretary, to tackle the problem. They organised, in partnership with the Cape Argus, an enormously successful eight-day motor show extravaganza at the Goodwood Showgrounds (now the site of the GrandWest casino). It made enough profit to wipe out the loan – and introduced American-style stock car racing to the Cape Town public.
Then they merged the Mets, the Amateur Automobile Racing Club, the Cape Rally Association, the Kape Kart Klub and the Motor Sports Marshals Association to form the Western Province Motor Club, which still runs the circuit. Its first chairman was Pheiffer, followed by Ted Lanfear, Ronnie Hare and Joubert, who ran the club for a remarkable 36 years, and ensured, sometimes in the face of considerable opposition, that the circuit never again ran into debt.
Killarney has become a multi-purpose circuit for racing, sports and classic cars, motorcycles, go-karts, a large annual motor show (on October 15 this year), cycling, running and charity events such as the annual Motorcycle Toy Run.