A1 GP World Cup: When Durban became Africa’s Monaco

Twenty years ago, the streets of Durban roared to life as the A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport arrived in South Africa for the first time. You can forget F1’s current will they/won’t they affair with Kyalami, last run in 1993. The mid-noughties was the last time loud, open-wheel racing machines graced South Africa.

Better still, the A1 GP concept was refreshingly different in motorsport. Rather than daddy buying a seat for his son, this series pitted nations against one another. Each participating country picked a driver and was represented in identical machinery. Therefore, no endless debate about who had the better car. Quick driver + good team = national pride.

A1 GP WORLD CUP OF MOTORSPORT

The A1 GP circus arrived in Durban for its first taste of the temporary street circuit in January 2006. The warm Indian Ocean provided the backdrop and tens of thousands of spectators lined the beachfront streets. Then there were the names on the grid: Verstappen (Jos ‘the boss,’ not Max), Piquet Jr, Hulkenberg (he raced in 2007), Jani and many more …

But it was this first Durban weekend that delivered in spades. France’s Alexandre Prémat took the sprint race, but the feature race belonged to the Netherlands and Jos Verstappen. The former F1 driver started 16th and charged through the field to snatch victory from Switzerland’s Neel Jani with a daring last-lap move. South Africa’s own Stephen Simpson finished a credible fifth in the feature race.

SERIES FADED AWAY 

Like many promising ideas, sadly, the A1 GP series would eventually fade away due to lack of money rather than appeal. After two years, the departure of its original financial backer, Sheikh Maktoum, and subsequent funding difficulties left it vulnerable to the global financial crisis of 2008. By the 2009/10 season, races were being cancelled with cars reportedly left stranded when operating costs couldn’t be paid.

Nevertheless, twenty years on, it’s hard not to marvel at the sheer ambition of A1 GP back then. Likewise, the sheer spectacle of a Durban beachfront circuit with flat-out action between concrete walls.

But what do you think? Would you like to see something like A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport make a return? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below …