Cape Town - Cape Town, start your engines! The ink on the new Killarney International Raceway lease agreement is dry and the Western Province Motor Club’s (WPMC) chequered flag is all set to unfurl.
Details of the new lease agreement include the retention of racing as the predominant use of the site.
The lease agreement allows WPMC to plan for investment in its infrastructure and events in a bid to further boost the local economy.
WPMC plans to expand its membership base by improving and extending Killarney’s facilities, not least by building a dedicated spinning and drifting facility.
It also expects to draw on Cape Town’s tourism offerings and branding to attract international competitors.
Economic growth Mayco member James Vos called it “yet another milestone boost for economic growth, jobs”.
Vos said: “Motorsport contributes R357 million to Cape Town’s economy while supporting an extensive industry and thousands of jobs in race manufacturing, trading, servicing, repairs, parts and accessories.”
Killarney, which has been operating as a motorsport facility for 75 years, is the most-used multi-purpose event venue in Cape Town.
It had a pre-Covid-19 total of 200 events a year, with 70 of those being charity events.
It hosts a range of motor and motorcycling events, and also non-motorised sporting events such as cycling, duathlons and marathons.
WPMC president Greg Mills said Killarney was not just a racetrack but “a half-a-billion-rand facility built with members’ money and sweat over 75 years”.
He said with the signing of the agreement, motorsport in South Africa and Cape Town in particular was on the cusp of a new and even better future.
“That global motorsport figure of $160 billion, that’s a million and a half jobs, and it’s the aim of Killarney to get a slice of those million and a half jobs over the next 30 years.”
The sport also draws international and South African competitors, manufacturers, fans, and sponsors who come for extended stays and investments.
The news comes ahead of the now confirmed inaugural Cape Town E-Prix set for February 25.
Cape Town will be the first sub-Saharan African city to host a round of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.