Porsche SA rescues Kyalami track
Relief as Kyalami escapes the property developers’ clutches
HEN the hammer came down on the Kyalami sale last Thursday and the auctioneer cried “Sold to Porsche South Africa” it came as a bit of a surprise, not least to Porsche itself.
Before the High Street auction the prevailing view – and one shared by Porsche CEO Toby Venter – was that a property developer would snap up the 72 hectare property, with its highly sought-after Midrand location, and turn it into a money-spinning townhouse or business complex. The days of roaring engines and skidding tyres would be consigned to history, leaving misty-eyed racing enthusiasts to nostalgically mull over some of the legends who raced there over the last 53 years: among them Senna, Lauda, Mansell, Prost, Schumacher and Doohan. And home-grown heroes like Viana, Briggs, Love, and Scheckter.
After all the hype and reported interest in the July 24 auction from local and overseas buyers, the sale itself was over in the blink of an eye. Following an opening bid by another party for the R200-million reserve price, Porsche offered R205-
Wmillion and it was all over: no more bids were offered and the hammer thwacked.
It’s a happy ending from a petrolhead’s point of view as Porsche has confirmed it will continue to run Kyalami as a racetrack, and as a place where car and motorcycle enthusiasts, for a fee, can play with their motorised toys without fear of being hindered by speed traps or kamikaze taxi drivers. It’s also a venue used by car clubs to stage events, such as the recent Ferrari Day earlier this month.
“I’m happy to be the new custodian,” said Venter, whose passion for Porsches extends beyond just selling them, as he races them too. “For every motoring enthusiast Kyalami means ‘ my home’ and we’re preserving it for racing,” Venter said after buying the country’s most iconic racetrack.
The reaction to the sale has been mostly positive, and here are some of the typical comments posted on our www.motoring.co.za website:
“Happy to see that Porsche is headed by someone with a passion for racing, someone with a soul. Getting rid of the track for me would be equivalent of flattening table mountain; insane”.
“Hats off to Porsche. They have saved a legendary, iconic race track from oblivion. I hope in time it is reinstated back to its former glory”.
The sale finally brought to an end the protracted legal battle for control of the troubled circuit between brothers Dimetrys and Antonys Theodisiou, who owned a 40 percent share and also managed the property, and investors Imperial Holdings and Nedbank, who each owned 30 percent.
Although motor racing still takes place there regularly, the Midrand facility has been neglected in recent years. The track itself is in good condition but many of the facilities, including the once-pristine hospitality bomas, are tatty and in need of some tender loving care.
Getting the circuit spic and span again will be Porsche SA’s first order of business once it takes occupation in two to three months time, once the transfer has taken place. Step two will be to make the circuit profitable after the departure in recent years of a number of paying tenants, including BMW and Audi who hosted their advanced driving schools there. Only Volkswagen’s driving academy remains.
It’s too soon to say whether Kyalami could again host international events such as Formula One or World Superbikes. Over the years the circuit has staged 21 F1 races (the last in 1993) as well as other international events including rounds of the World Superbike series, Motorcycle GP racing, and A1 GP.
But having an F1-graded circuit is just the tip of the iceberg in getting a Grand Prix here. While Kyalami would require some investment to upgrade it to an F1 rating, much more expensive is the fee demanded by F1’s ringmasters to bring a race here – reputedly in the hundreds of millions of rands – and even Porsche’s pockets aren’t that deep.
Ticket sales wouldn’t nearly cover the cost, and this kind of money, as it did for the 2010 World Cup, needs to come from government. But perhaps Venter, now that he has a racetrack, is the right man to set those kinds of wheels in motion.
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