Kyalami, Motor racing circuit in Midrand, South Africa.
Kyalami is a 4.529 km motor racing circuit in Midrand, Gauteng, north of Johannesburg. Its current layout is a narrow, twisty ribbon: the 1989 rebuild removed Leeukop Bend, the Kink, the old pit lane and start/finish straight, Crowthorne Corner and Barbecue Bend, while Sunset Bend, Clubhouse Bend and the Esses were kept in modified form. The asphalt loop has white edge lines, a parallel pit lane linked by short feeder lanes, white-roofed buildings and a long pale-roofed grandstand along the lower right straight.
Harry Pierce and Dick Bremner designed and cleared the original circuit in the mid-1950s, and it opened on 4 November 1961 with the Kyalami 9 Hours. Political sanctions ended the Formula One South African Grand Prix after the 1985 race, and the last event on the original layout was held on 26 November 1988. The circuit was rebuilt in 1989, dropping Leeukop Bend, the Kink, Crowthorne Corner and Barbecue Bend; Formula One left again in 1993 after two races on the new layout when the promoter went bankrupt. Toby Venter bought the track at auction for R205 million on 24 July 2014 and invested R100 million, earning FIA Grade 2 status.
The name Kyalami comes from the Zulu phrase khaya lami, meaning "my home". Corners of the original 1961 layout carried local names: Crowthorne Corner after the nearby Crowthorne Hotel, Barbecue Bend after the braais held beside the track, and Jukskei Sweep after the Jukskei River, itself named for the Afrikaner game of jukskei. Sunset Bend faced drivers into the setting sun.
The circuit lies in Midrand between Johannesburg and Pretoria, and noise restrictions apply because it sits in a residential area. Part of the site became the Kyalami Office Park, so access is arranged around events rather than open daily visiting. The 4.529 km layout runs clockwise, with the pit lane beside the main straight.
The name Kyalami comes from the Zulu phrase "Khaya lami", meaning "my home". The original 1961 circuit was designed and cleared by Harry Pierce and Dick Bremner with a few friends and workers, and its corners carried names such as Crowthorne Corner, after a nearby hotel, and Jukskei Sweep, after the river and the Afrikaner game of jukskei.
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