02.24.2008
Providing the back drop to one of the most exciting races of the first season, Durban is bound to put on a great show for its second A1 event.
Jos Vertappen was the hero of the race in 2006, demonstrating the dangers and the glory of racing on such a narrow circuit, crashing out of the Sprint race, and winning the Feature race with an impressive overtaking manoeuvre on the last lap.
A1’s first race in Durban was a maximum capacity event, with over 100,000 fans watching the action over the course of the race weekend. The enthusiastic and patriotic fans were the most vocal of the season, cheering on the local star, A1 Team South Africa driver, Stephen Simpson in his ‘Vulindlela’ car.
The ‘Golden Mile’, which lies alongside the A1 circuit, attracts many swimmers and surfers who enjoy the warm Indian Ocean. For those wishing to get a bit closer to the marine wildlife, uShaka Marine World, situated near the centre of Durban, provides the opportunity to get a closer look at fishes and sharks, including ‘Ocean Walks’, as the A1 drivers discovered when they visited in January 2006.
CIRCUIT HISTORY
The street circuit in Durban was specifically designed for A1 and held it’s first race in January 2006. The tight twisting circuit, leaves no room for error and was considered to be one of the most difficult circuit of the season by the A1 drivers.
The 3.2 kilometre layout has its start/finish line opposite Natal Command in Snell Parade, lying between Natal Command and the beach. Running in a clockwise direction, cars blast down to a very tight right-hand hairpin out of which the cars then accelerate back up Snell Parade and then snap left into Argyle Road with a left/right chicane.
A faster right-hand corner feeds the cars onto what is normally NMR Avenue for the longest straight of the circuit. This kinks to the right just before its conclusion, then the track turns sharp right and east onto Battery Beach Road, ducking under the M4 freeway. Another right follows, with the track then entering a long, arcing left past the Suncoast Casino, complete with a chicane just before it starts to arc. Finally, the lap is completed with a long right onto the start/finish straight on Snell Parade.
Temporary grandstands are erected around the circuit, seating 22,000 spectators in 2006 alongside the 80,000 plus general admission tickets. A sell out and enthusiastic crowd may lead to an increase in capacity for the second race to be held in the city.
COUNTRY INFORMATION
South Africa is a vibrant and diverse country that has experienced quite a different evolution to other African countries. Often referred to as the ‘Rainbow Nation’, South Africa has no single culture, a characteristic that makes it all the more interesting country to visit. Tourists in particular can enjoy this diversity, which is presented in South Africa’s cuisine, music and dance, which all feature prominently in South Africa’s culture.
While South Africa’s diversity may be less of a problem now, and even celebrated by most, it has caused political difficulties through the country’s history.
For most of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the expanding settlement known as South Africa was under Dutch and later British control. The discovery of diamonds and gold in 1867 and 1886 obviously increased interest in the region, as well as encouraging economic growth. Conflict continued through this period, as the British fought the Boers for control of the region, through the first and second Boer wars. After a series of military defeats, the British finally succeeded in taking control of the region. In 1910, the Union of South Africa was created from the colonies of Cape Colon, Natal Colony and the republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal.
Political division between the two main parties during the Second World War, saw the country emerge in the post-war period with the right wing National Party in control. The National Party implemented a series of racist laws which became known as apartheid. Apartheid led to oppression and a wide division in living standards and widespread sanctions and divestment abroad. Unable to control the growing violence and protest within the country, the National Party took the first steps to negotiate itself out of power in 1990. Lifting the ban on the African National Congress, and other left-wing parties, and the symbolic release of Nelson Mandela showed how the country was changing. As apartheid was gradually removed, the first free elections were held in 1994, giving black people the opportunity to vote for the first time.
Now in a more peaceful period, South Africa is able to concentrate on a developing economy. A middle-income country, South Africa has an abundant supply of resources and a well developed financial, legal, communications, energy, transport sectors and a stock exchange which is among the 10 largest in the world. In fact the South Africa Rand was the best performing currency against the US Dollar between 2002 and 2005.
LOCAL INFORMATION
Time zone: GMT + 2
Airport: Durban International Airport
Currency: South African Rand
Average February temperature: 76.1 °F
Average February rainfall: 5 inches
CIRCUIT INFORMATION
Location: 800m from Durban town centre and 300m from the North Beach coastline, close to the Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World
Track length: 3.28 km / 2.04 miles
No. turns: 11
No. laps: Sprint race: 20, Feature race: 40
Direction: Clockwise
Lap record: 1:18.178, recorded by Nelson Piquet Jr, A1 Team Brazil in 2006
Address: Brickhill road,
Durban,
Kwazulu-Natal,
South Africa
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