A proposal aimed at bringing Formula 1 back to South Africa is set to be assessed by the sport’s commercial rights holder.
The development comes after the South African Formula 1 Bid Steering Committee nominated the proposal it believes most suitable to promote a potential event.
Kyalami in pole position as South African F1 bid selected
A turbulent expressions of interest process opened in South Africa saw three submissions; one centred around the use of the Kyalami circuit, another looking to create a street race in Cape Town, and a third believed to be submitted by former MotoGP promoter Bobby Hartslief.
While no official announcement has been made as to which of the three efforts has been successful, PlanetF1.com understands the Kyalami effort was the preferred option.
That follows a statement from the circuit owner, Toby Venter, outlining his willingness to upgrade the circuit to Grade 1 specifications should F1 agree to race at the venue.
It’s further supported by a statement from the F1 steering committee, which described it as “encouraging and bodes well for the country’s bid to host a Formula 1 race in future.”
The tender process was bumpy, with just six weeks initially given for interested parties to raise the necessary funding and bring together their proposal.
As part of the bidding process, applicants were required to pay a R10 million (USD $560,000) deposit, a point that was criticised by those involved with the Cape Town project.
“Cape Town Grand Prix sees this whole process as a flawed process, because firstly, nowhere in South Africa in the new democracy, has there been a request that you have to pay R10 million rand to bid to bring an event to the country,” Igshaan Almay, CEO of the Cape Town Grand Prix South Africa project, told the Cape Argus newspaper.
“A payment of a deposit of R10 million to support an open bid submission should not be the determining factor as to whether a bid is considered or not, particularly when it does not make any changes to the economics of a bid.
“Then, when the bid document was put out, we were given fewer than 10 days to submit our entire proposal, including a R10 million deposit – a bid to host a major global sporting event.
“Only after we pushed for an extension to encourage a fair process did an extension emerge.”
It was a move defended in the statement from McKenzie’s office, which argued the fee was “done to ensure that the BSC [bid steering committee] would not waste their time on competitors who are known to talk big and make elaborate promises in the motorsport space but lack the financial muscle to put together a serious proposition.
“Any bidder with the inability to raise such a deposit was simply likely to distract from truly credible bids in a space that would require the ability to manage funding in the region of billions.”
The deadline for submissions was ultimately extended until the end of March.
Gayton McKenzie, South Africa’s minister of sport, arts and culture, has now confirmed that the bid steering committee had made its recommendation.
“The Committee was expected to weigh up the proposals from the private sector to make a non-binding recommendation to the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture on who may be best placed to promote and organise Formula 1 Grand Prix events in South Africa,” a statement from McKenzie’s department announced.
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With a winning bidder selected, the project will consult with Formula 1 Management before other government departments and bodies are engaged.
“Only once all the relevant approvals have been obtained will any announcement regarding any successful bidder be made,” the statement declared.
McKenzie himself added: “It must be emphasised that we are still in the negotiating and planning phase of returning Formula 1 to South Africa. On the face of it, the prospect of South Africa hosting such a race is very achievable, and we look forward to moving the discussion forward with the Formula 1 Group in coming weeks.”
South Africa has emerged as the strongest contender for an African F1 return after efforts in Rwanda struck trouble earlier this year.
Former McLaren and French GP boss Eric Boullier has also floated the concept of a race in Morocco, though that is not considered a realistic option either.
It leaves South Africa as the most likely host should F1 return to the continent, Kyalami having last hosted the world championship in 1993.
Despite the latest developments, deep concerns remain about the project’s viability.
Read next: South Africa Grand Prix: Separating F1 hype from depressing reality
