Two inaugural GP SA racing cars meet again 84 years on
The Maserati 8CM in which Whitney Straight won the inaugural South African Grand Prix in 1934 will once again race against Dick Seaman’s supercharged MG K3, with the two cars reuniting on the very circuit at which they competed against each other 84 years ago.
Straight’s Maserati, one of the most famous racing cars of all time, is confirmed for the SA Grand Prix Festival in East London on November 25, plus the Grand Prix Garden Party at Val de Vie Estate on December 1 and 2.
Joining these two entries will be nearly 20 pre-war Grand Prix cars, many of them the actual vehicles that raced locally between 1934 and 1939.
Confirmed entries include the Riley Ulster Imp, which finished second in the 1937 event, other MGs, two confirmed Bugattis, an Aston Martin Ulster, Frazer Nash, ERAs and Talbots.
Organised by UK firm Speedstream Events, the SA Historic Grand Prix Festival will host the cars to a race in East London on November 25 before touring down to the Western Cape.
It will culminate in a two-day Grand Prix Garden Party at Val de Vie Estate, located between Franschhoek and Paarl, where the public can get close to these spectacular cars on the pristine polo fields the estate is renowned for. Limited general access and VIP tickets are on sale for the event at sahistoricgp.com.