19 Dec Passion For Speed
From 1962 to 1965, South Africa had a National Formula One Championship. All the
International names of the day came and raced in South Africa. We had the Rand GP at Kyalami, the Cape GP at Killarney, the Natal GP at Westmead, the Rhodesian GP in Bulawayo, and the big daddy of them all, the World Championship South African GP in East London. The big names of F1 came and raced here: Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, Innes Ireland, Stirling Moss, Jo Bonnier alongside local heroes including Tony Maggs, John Love, Gary Hocking, Neville Lederle,
Trevor Blokdyk, Syd van den Vyver, Sam Tingle, Peter de Klerk and Jackie Pretorius, Doug Serrurier, Peter de Klerk and Bill Jennings.
To rekindle those halcyon days, the Historic Grand Prix Cars Association have
put together an amazing grid of 18 Grand Prix cars to race at Zwartkops on February 1 and at Killarney on February 8. This is an amazing grid of F1 racers which represents the time when South Africa was at the heart of Formula One.
The pre-1966 entry list comprises a 1952 Alta F2, 1954 Maserati 250F, 1958 Lotus 16 Climax, 1958 Cooper T45 Climax, 1958 Cooper T45/51 Climax, 1958 Cooper T45/51 1960cc, 1958 Cooper T51 Maserati, 1960 Cooper T53 Climax 2,5, 1960 Cooper T53 Climax 2,7, 1960 Lotus 18 Alfa, 1960 Heron F1 Alfa, 1961 Cooper T56/59 Alfa, 1961 Lotus 18 Climax, 1961 LDS 03 Alfa, 1962 LDS 06 Alfa, 1964 Cooper T71/73 Ford, 1964 Brabham BT11 Climax and a Lotus 18/21 Climax.
Some fortunate people will get the opportunity to experience what it was like to race a Formula 5000 in the Seventies with pillion rides available.
The South African races are the first two events on the 2020 HGPCA calendar, the full, list being:
31 Jan-1 Feb – Zwartkops Raceway, South Africa
7-8 Feb – Killarney International Raceway, South Africa
24-26 Apr – Hockenheim, Germany
4-7 Jun – Val de Vienne, France
15-20 Jun – Cruise to Colmar, France
27-28 Jun – Masters Historic, Donington, England
31 Jul-2 Aug – Silverstone Classic, England
7-9 Aug – Oldtimer Grand Prix, Germany
4-6 Sep – Zandvoort Historic Grand Prix (not confirmed)
25-27 Sep – Spa Six Hours, Belgium
17-18 Oct – Jerez La Leyenda, Spain
23-25 Oct – Algarve Classic Festival, Portugal
