Porsche Purchases Kyalami Circuit

Photo: KyalamiAuction.com

South Africa’s most famous circuit has gotten a new lease on life, thanks to the help of Porsche.

The Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit was sold in an auction last week to the South African division of Porsche for $19.5 million.

The circuit, located near Johannesburg, played host to 20 Formula One races between 1967 and 1993, as well as featuring multiple rounds of the FIA World Endurance Championship in the ’80s, but had recently fell into tough times financially.

Fears of the property being turned into commercial real estate was erased last week when Porsche South Africa CEO Toby Venter placed the winning bid, in an auction that reportedly lasted less than two minutes.

While formal plans have yet to be announced, the importer, independent of Porsche AG, has indicated that Kyalami will be preserved as a race track. It’s unclear if upgrades will be made to the facility.

The South African motorsports community has made recent initiatives to return to the international endurance racing scene, launching the African 6 Hours event at Phakisa Raceway in 2013.

Local promoters hope to expand the single race into a three-to-four round endurance championship next year, with the goal of eventually attracting a round of the FIA WEC.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John