Phakisa Freeway

Phakisa Freeway is a motor racing circuit located between Welkom and Odendaalsrus, South Africa. It is one of the few oval speedways outside of the United States and the only one in Africa.

Phakisa Freeway

Map of the speedway

Map of the road course
LocationOdendaalsrus, Free State, South Africa
Time zoneGMT +2
Coordinates27.905°S 26.712°E / -27.905; 26.712
Broke groundSeptember 1998
Opened10 October 1999 (1999-10-10)
Former namesGoldfields Raceway
Major eventsSouth African motorcycle Grand Prix
Road course[1]
Length4.24 km (2.65 mi)
Speedway[1]
Length2.4 km (1.5 mi)
Turns4
Banking3 – 12º
Short circuit[1]
Length3.2 km (2.0 mi)
Websitewww.phakisa.co.za

History

Phakisa Freeway was built on the same site as the former Goldfields Raceway, which closed in 1997.[2]

The current track opened in 1999.[1] It consists of a 4.24 km road course and a 2.4-kilometre (1.5 mi) oval course.[1] The road course uses the oval’s pit lane as its backstraight and crosses the oval’s backstretch on two times.

The oval track is similar to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in its 1997 configuration: 12 degree banking in the turns, nine degrees on the tri-oval and three degrees on the back stretch.[1] It was built to attract American oval racing like NASCAR or IndyCar.

Events

From 1999 to 2004, the venue hosted the South African motorcycle Grand Prix of the MotoGP championship.

The Superbike World Championship announced their intention to run at Phakisa Freeway from 2014 onwards.[1] Due to homologation issues the series never raced at the circuit.[1]

Since 2014, Phakisa Freeway has only hosted national events.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

The only event held on the oval was the Free State 500 in 2010.[1] The American Speed Association imported stock cars to South Africa for the race.[9] Various drivers from South Africa, Europe and the US competed - including former NASCAR driver Geoff Bodine.[1]

See also

References
  1. "Phakisa Freeway". RacingCircuits.info. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  2. 17 (10 October 1999). "Phakisa | Welcome to Lejweleputswa District Municipality". Lejweleputswa.co.za. Retrieved 10 August 2018.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. "Events at Phakisa Freeway in 2014". Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  4. "Events at Phakisa Freeway in 2015". Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  5. "Events at Phakisa Freeway in 2016". Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  6. "Events at Phakisa Freeway in 2017". Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  7. "Events at Phakisa Freeway in 2018". Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  8. "Events at Phakisa Freeway in 2019". Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  9. "Stock Cars In South Africa: The 2010 Free State 500". 10 December 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2009.
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