South_African_motorcycle_Grand_Prix

South African motorcycle Grand Prix

South African motorcycle Grand Prix

Motorcycle race held in South Africa


The South African motorcycle Grand Prix was a motorcycling event that had been part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship, held intermittently from 1983 to 2004.

Quick Facts Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Venue ...

History

The first South African Grand Prix was held in 1983 as the season opener at the Kyalami circuit in Midrand.[1] The circuit lay more than 1700 metres above sea level and the high altitude caused problems for the riders to set up their bikes. The race was held on a Saturday, similar to the Dutch TT.[2] In 1984 the races were plagued by bad weather conditions, resulting in many accidents.[3] The race in 1985 was the final to be held at the old Kyalami circuit before it was removed for the 1986 season due to the Apartheid policies which were in place in the country at the time. These policies prompted the subsequent boycott from many sport associations (such as the FIM and the FIA), which refused to race in the country until the lift of these bans in the early 1990s.[4][5][6]

After the Apartheid policies were abolished and the FIM removed the restrictions for South African riders and venues, the round returned on the calendar in 1992 on a new and shortened variant of the Kyalami circuit. The race was placed on a Sunday timeslot compared to the previous three South African GPs, which were held on a Saturday.[7] However, due to ongoing financial and political problems going on in the country, it was decided to cancel the 1993 installment of the race which was planned for 3 October that year. This decision was made at the 1993 Italian Grand Prix.[8]

In 1999, the South African Grand Prix returned. The venue chosen was the Phakisa Freeway in Welkom.[9][10] In the 2002 event, the South African Department of Health announced a week before the Grand Prix that it was no longer allowed to advertise tobacco products in motorsports. This caused a big problem because that year's official sponsor of the race was French cigarette brand Gauloises. All the posters and programs - who were already printed and ready for distribution - had to be thrown away and quickly altered and all the teams who were sponsored by tobacco companies that year were forced to order new and censored stickers for the bikes, overalls for the riders, team clothing for the crewmembers and more. This caused significant financial damage as a result.[11] In 2003, the start of the MotoGP race was delayed for almost one hour to clean up an oil spill from Kenny Roberts Jr.'s Suzuki.[12] The 2004 race was the final South African Grand Prix so far and saw Valentino Rossi and Max Biaggi famously battle for the victory.[13][14][15]

Official names and sponsors

  • 1983: Nashua Motorcycle Grand Prix
  • 1984: Technics Motorcycle Grand Prix[16]
  • 1985: National Panasonic Motorcycle Grand Prix
  • 1992: Nashua South African Grand Prix
  • 1999: South African Grand Prix (no official sponsor)
  • 2000–2001: Gauloises Africa's Grand Prix
  • 2002: Africa's Grand Prix (no official sponsor)
  • 2003: Arnette Africa's Grand Prix
  • 2004: betandwin.com Africa's Grand Prix

Formerly used circuits

Winners

Multiple winners (riders)

More information # Wins, Rider ...

Multiple winners (manufacturers)

More information # Wins, Manufacturer ...

By year

More information Year, Track ...

References

  1. "MotoGP - South African 500cc GP - Kyalami - 1983". YouTube. 22 April 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  2. "Grand Prix uitslagen en bijzonderheden 1983". Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  3. "Grand Prix uitslagen en bijzonderheden 1984". Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  4. "MotoGP - South African 500cc GP - Kyalami 1985". YouTube. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  5. "Kyalami". Motorsportmagazine.com. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  6. "Grand Prix uitslagen en bijzonderheden 1992". Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  7. "Grand Prix uitslagen en bijzonderheden 1993". Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  8. "1999 500cc South African GPk". YouTube. 21 February 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  9. "Grand Prix uitslagen en bijzonderheden 1999". Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  10. "Grand Prix uitslagen en bijzonderheden 2002". Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  11. "Grand Prix uitslagen en bijzonderheden 2003". jumpingjack.nl (in Dutch). 25 July 2015. Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  12. "Top ten historic moments of 2004: no. 1 - MotoGP". Motogp.com. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  13. "Moto Gp Sirkuit Welkom 2004". YouTube. 10 January 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2018.

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