In the early and late 80's there was F1 racing in South Africa?

The Kyalami circuit (near Johannesburg) has actually hosted 20 South African Grands Prix (1967 to 1980, then 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985 as well as 1992 and 1993.

There were two major reasons for abandoning the circuit following the 1993 race:

Kyalami had serious financial problems and the FIA feared South Africa was on the verge of a civil war as the country transitioned from that dreadful apartheid system.

Kyalami was a favourite with the drivers, even though changes were made to the layout in the period between 1985 and 1992, changes that `sanitized' the circuit. I'm convinced Formula One racing would return to Kyalami if the circuit was brought up to the same standards offered by the most recent additions to the calendar (Istanbul, Bahrain and Shanghai) and it seems nobody is willing to pay for the necessary upgrades to the facility. The other stumbling block is the sanctioning fee Bernie Ecclestone demands and that can vary from $15 to $20 million.

its on the cards, patience is a virtue.

There needs to be a race in Africa and Kyalami and South Africa is the most likely place.

It's hard, the backers are still a bit jumpy about South Africa.

yes yes yes . my dad is Darrel Fulton and use to race F1 in the early 1980 s i have all this trophies and newspaper clipping

there was and it was at kylami !

not much chance of f1 going back there unless they provide mr eccelstone with a big pile of cash !

about 15 million a year would do it !

Nice idea, but it will never happen!

F1 is awash with money from the Arab states and that's where Mr Ecclestone sees the future of this sport.

Kyalami and F1 might return there not in too distance future...

kyalami is a great track but sadly that twisted little dwarf is solely motivated by money and greed.