Chewbacca 653 Posted October 27, 2009 I think BSI/IMG should be looking at South Africa for a potential Grand Prix. Apparently all of the football world cup stadiums are struggling to find a use after the competition. This might make them offer an attractive rental. There is a history of speedway in SA unlike some of the countries they are looking at, and the time zone means they can still show it live on tv in Europe. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Diesel 26 Posted October 27, 2009 And every person in South Africa already has an annoying horn thing that would go down well at a speedway meeting! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chewbacca 653 Posted October 27, 2009 And every person in South Africa already has an annoying horn thing that would go down well at a speedway meeting! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hazzman 72 Posted October 27, 2009 Complete non-runner. The cost in shipping down a temporary track (with no assurance of the material not getting wet ) would be far too much. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chewbacca 653 Posted October 27, 2009 Complete non-runner. The cost in shipping down a temporary track (with no assurance of the material not getting wet ) would be far too much. Is there no shale in SA? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spannerboy 1 Posted October 27, 2009 Do you need shale for a grand prix then? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hazzman 72 Posted October 27, 2009 Is there no shale in SA? Agreed but some reason FIM/IMG have been insistent on using the same shale on repeat occasions for temporary tracks as seen by the farcical German GP. The political problem is you'd only see it working in the white percentage cities of South Africa which stadiums have uses for after the World Cup. It's mainly the venues positioned within a hour of Johnnesburg which are struggling to find a use after the competition. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron Butler 0 Posted October 27, 2009 Yes there is a history of speedway in South Africa but isn't that just what it is - history. Are there any clubs operative in the country now? I know of none. No clubs - no local support from the man in the street. Would the government of the country back any attempt to reintroduce this comparatively unknown sport to the land? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chewbacca 653 Posted October 27, 2009 Yes there is a history of speedway in South Africa but isn't that just what it is - history. Are there any clubs operative in the country now? I know of none. No clubs - no local support from the man in the street. Would the government of the country back any attempt to reintroduce this comparatively unknown sport to the land? If it saves them from having 'white elephant' stadiums on their hands they just might. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
srbramble 0 Posted October 28, 2009 Australia is a better bet. They have several stadiums that are under-used since their Olympics. South Africa has little interest in speedway, and that is at a very basic level. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
britmet 233 Posted October 28, 2009 Yes there is a history of speedway in South Africa but isn't that just what it is - history. Are there any clubs operative in the country now? I know of none. No clubs - no local support from the man in the street. Would the government of the country back any attempt to reintroduce this comparatively unknown sport to the land? Yes, there is ONE club, very active, - operating at the Walkerville Raceway, suburb of Jo'burg, and with occasional sorties at the Rustenburg Showground. It runs the Alan Hunt Memorial Trophy annually, donated by 1975 winner Boet Strijdom and won the last 2 years by Byron Bekker of Scunthorpe and Edinburgh. . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
UnitedUnitedUnited 0 Posted October 28, 2009 Decent Idea TBH, Think its Cape Town, where they have built a brand new stadium, about 500 yards away from the Sharks Rugby Stadium, the new one is 55000 all seater, yet the Sharks isnt far from that capacity, costing 250 million pound to build, what a waste, the African people arent happy as hitting there pockets. Could be a decent move, as would be cheap to get the stadium for a night or 2. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
srbramble 0 Posted October 28, 2009 Decent Idea TBH, Think its Cape Town, where they have built a brand new stadium, about 500 yards away from the Sharks Rugby Stadium, the new one is 55000 all seater, yet the Sharks isnt far from that capacity, costing 250 million pound to build, what a waste, the African people arent happy as hitting there pockets. Could be a decent move, as would be cheap to get the stadium for a night or 2. Not a good idea at all. The riders wouldn't want to go there, and niether would many fans. All the Gps currently, are within a reasonable distance from riders' european commitments, so the travelling the day after isn't such an issue. I know there are noises to have a GP in Oz, but that is understandable, due to the amount of interest in the sport over there, and it has been done before. South Africa hasn't got one reason why they should get a GP round. Even if the locals are prepared to support such an event, wouldn't the cost of the tickets make their situation worse? Bad idea mate. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron Butler 0 Posted October 28, 2009 Yes, there is ONE club, very active, - operating at the Walkerville Raceway, suburb of Jo'burg, and with occasional sorties at the Rustenburg Showground. It runs the Alan Hunt Memorial Trophy annually, donated by 1975 winner Boet Strijdom and won the last 2 years by Byron Bekker of Scunthorpe and Edinburgh. Thank you for that info, Britmet. Sadly, the fact that there is but one club in a country the size of South Africa only emphasises the lack of interest in speedway as a spectator sport of any importance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iris123 20,996 Posted October 28, 2009 I read some guy is building a Las Vegas style complex in Ireland,complete with a 7,000 capacity Greyhound stadium!Maybe that might be a better bet than South Africa?Get speedway back up and running on the Emerald Isle Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
