Let’s hope McKenzie can back up his bark

Gayton McKenzie may be many things, but one thing he certainly has is the gift of the gab.

The Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture was at it again on Wednesday at the Kyalami racing track in Midrand as he stated South Africa’s case to host a Formula One Grand Prix in the near future.

McKenzie announced a 13-strong bid steering committee, which includes sporting heavyweights such as SuperSport CEO Rendani Ramovha and SA Rugby Legends boss Gavin Varejes, as well as marketing expert Tim Harris and Motorsport SA executives Anton Roux and Vic Maharaj.

McKenzie said South Africa hoped to host its first Grand Prix since 1993, and that bids could be received from any province in the country – which means that Kyalami is not necessarily a done deal.

But Formula One is not a cheap sport, and there will have to be serious financial guarantees from government and other political support to get South Africa’s bid across the line.

McKenzie insisted that President Cyril Ramaphosa is his biggest supporter in the Cabinet for the Formula One bid, and that money wouldn’t be a problem.

“I am inundated with people who want to bring money and sponsor the F1 in South Africa. Everybody wants to get involved, so the money issue is the least of my worries,” he said.

But in a country like South Africa, where there are more pressing needs than hosting a Formula One Grand Prix, the government must be wary of spending too much money on this quest.

At least with a bid steering committee in place, there will hopefully be true transparency in the selection of the preferred race promoter next February, and let’s hope the process isn’t delayed by in-fighting and political shenanigans – whether inside or outside the motorsport world.

McKenzie made a strong argument that the event would provide a huge tourism boom for South Africa.

But let’s hope that he can back up his bark, and that a South African F1 Grand Prix can benefit the country, but not at a cost to the rest of society.

Cape Times