Race Tracks in South Africa
South Africa has one of the deepest motorsport cultures on the continent, built around a handful of well-established permanent circuits rather than a sprawling national network. Kyalami, north of Johannesburg, is the country's marquee venue and a former Formula One host that now anchors a busy calendar of national championships and historic festivals. Killarney in Cape Town and Zwartkops in Centurion are the other two mainstays, both hosting weekly club racing alongside national rounds, while Aldo Scribante (Gqeberha) and the seaside Prince George Circuit in East London carry the sport in the Eastern Cape. Two purpose-built venues near Delmas and Welkom, Red Star Raceway and Phakisa Freeway, add motorcycle and endurance racing, though Phakisa's grand prix and oval layouts have seen only intermittent use since MotoGP left in 2004. Temporary street circuits have twice put South Africa on the world stage: Durban hosted A1 Grand Prix from 2006-2008, and Cape Town's Green Point street circuit staged a Formula E round in 2023. This guide also covers the country's karting circuits, drag strips, the annual Simola Hillclimb, and notable closures such as Roy Hesketh and Goldfields Raceway.
26 venues listed across 8 categories. Venues with a full RaceTrackWorld guide are linked.
Road courses in South Africa
| Venue | Town | Length | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kyalami Racing Circuit | Midrand, Gauteng | 4.529 km | South Africa's premier circuit and a former Formula One host (1967-1985, 1992-1993); rebuilt to its current 4.529 km, 16-turn layout in 1989 and further upgraded after a 2014 investment by owner Toby Venter. |
| Killarney International Circuit | Cape Town, Western Cape | 3.267 km | Cape Town's home circuit since 1960, hosting national touring car and bike championships, club racing, an FIA World Rallycross round in 2017, and drag and oval configurations on the same site. |
| Zwartkops Raceway | Centurion, Pretoria, Gauteng | 2.4 km | Pretoria's long-running club and national circuit, current 2.400 km layout in use since 2001, with its own kart circuit and a busy weekly race-day calendar. |
| Red Star Raceway | near Delmas, Mpumalanga | 4 km | Opened in 2010 roughly 15 km north-east of Delmas, originally built for motorcycle racing before opening to cars; hosts national bike and car championship rounds. |
| Aldo Scribante Raceway | Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Eastern Cape | 2.48 km | Eight-turn circuit built in the 1970s and run by the Algoa Motor Sport Club, the Eastern Cape's main venue for national and club car and bike racing. |
| Prince George Circuit | East London, Eastern Cape | 3.92 km | Seaside amphitheatre circuit rebuilt to its current 3.920 km layout in 1959 to host the South African Grand Prix (1960-1963, 1965); still active today under the Border Motorsport Club, racetrackworld's East London Grand Prix Circuit page. |
| Dezzi Raceway | Port Shepstone, KwaZulu-Natal | 2.4 km | Purpose-built circuit on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast serving as the region's main venue since Roy Hesketh's closure, hosting national and club car and bike meetings. |
| Midvaal Raceway | Meyerton, Gauteng | 2.4 km | Multi-purpose Gauteng venue combining a road course, drag strip and motocross track, used for saloon car, motorcycle and karting events. |
| Phakisa Freeway (road course)Dormant | Welkom/Odendaalsrus, Free State | 4.242 km | Grand prix-length circuit opened in 1999 on the site of the former Goldfields Raceway; lost its anchor MotoGP round after 2004 and now sees only occasional national-level use. |
Ovals and speedways in South Africa
| Venue | Town | Length | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phakisa Freeway (oval)Dormant | Welkom/Odendaalsrus, Free State | 2.414 km | Modelled on Las Vegas Motor Speedway, this banked oval on the Phakisa Freeway site has run only a handful of events (including a lone 2010 stock car race) since opening in 1999. |
| Killarney Oval | Cape Town, Western Cape | — | Oval configuration within the Killarney complex used for club-level oval and stock car racing; length not published by the circuit. |
Drag strips in South Africa
| Venue | Town | Length | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tarlton International Raceway | near Krugersdorp, Gauteng | 0.402 km | Quarter-mile national drag strip opened in 1977 and still hosting South African Drag Racing Nationals and club drag events. |
| Killarney Drag Strip | Cape Town, Western Cape | — | Quarter-mile-format drag strip within the Killarney complex, host to Western Cape club drag racing; length not published by the circuit. |
| Midvaal Raceway (drag strip) | Meyerton, Gauteng | — | Drag strip sharing the Midvaal complex with the road course and motocross track; length not published. |
Hillclimbs and sprints in South Africa
| Venue | Town | Length | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simola HillclimbSeasonal | Knysna, Western Cape | 1.9 km | The world's fastest hillclimb, run once a year each May as the centrepiece of the Knysna Speed Festival on the private Simola Estate road. |
Motocross and off-road in South Africa
| Venue | Town | Length | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 7 Speedspot | Cape Town, Western Cape | — | Cape Town motocross park with senior and kids MX tracks plus a 6.3 km enduro loop; hosted the FIM Africa Motocross of African Nations. |
| Midvaal Raceway (motocross) | Meyerton, Gauteng | — | Motocross track sharing the Midvaal complex with the road course and drag strip. |
Karting in South Africa
| Venue | Town | Length | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formula K | Benoni, Gauteng | 1.6 km | South Africa's only CIK/FIA Grade A karting circuit, a technical 1.6 km layout used for national and F400 karting rounds. |
| Vereeniging Kart Circuit | Vereeniging, Gauteng | 1.2 km | Asphalt karting circuit off the R59, designed by the owner of the Netherlands' Berghem circuit, with a full 1.2 km and half 0.56 km layout. |
| iDube Raceway | Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal | — | Hillside karting circuit in KwaZulu-Natal known for its elevation changes, an annual away-round for the national F400 karting series. |
| Zwartkops Kart Circuit | Centurion, Pretoria, Gauteng | — | Dedicated kart track within the Zwartkops Raceway complex, used for national and club karting rounds; length not published. |
Street circuits and temporary in South Africa
| Venue | Town | Length | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Town Street CircuitDormant | Green Point, Cape Town, Western Cape | 2.921 km | Temporary street circuit around Green Point that hosted the 2023 Cape Town ePrix, the only Formula E race held in Sub-Saharan Africa to date; no repeat event has been confirmed since. |
Closed and historic in South Africa
| Venue | Town | Length | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Durban Street CircuitClosed | Durban, KwaZulu-Natal | 3.283 km | Temporary street circuit that hosted A1 Grand Prix from 2006 to 2008 before the series folded; not used for racing since. |
| Roy Hesketh CircuitClosed | Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal | 2.902 km | KwaZulu-Natal's national circuit from 1953 to 1981, closed to competitive motorsport in 2010 after noise complaints; still used informally for driver training. |
| Goldfields RacewayClosed | Welkom/Odendaalsrus, Free State | 4.168 km | Free State circuit that operated from 1970 until its 1997 closure; rebuilt on the same site as Phakisa Freeway, which opened in 1999. |
| Grand Central CircuitClosed | Midrand, Gauteng | — | Motor racing venue associated with Grand Central Airport used by Johannesburg-area competitors from the 1930s into the 1950s, superseded when Kyalami opened in 1961. |
Race tracks near the big cities in South Africa
Near Johannesburg/Pretoria
- Kyalami Racing Circuit · about 25 min
- Zwartkops Raceway · about 30 min
- Tarlton International Raceway · about 40 min
- Formula K · about 40 min
- Vereeniging Kart Circuit · about 55 min
- Midvaal Raceway · about 55 min
- Red Star Raceway · about 70 min
Near Cape Town
- Cape Town Street Circuit · about 15 min
- Killarney International Circuit · about 20 min
- Zone 7 Speedspot · about 30 min
- Simola Hillclimb · about 240 min
Near Durban
- iDube Raceway · about 90 min
- Dezzi Raceway · about 120 min
Near Gqeberha/East London
- Aldo Scribante Raceway · about 15 min
- Prince George Circuit · about 10 min
Near Bloemfontein
- Phakisa Freeway (road course) · about 90 min
Major race weekends in South Africa
| Event | Venue | When | Series |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kyalami 9 Hour | Kyalami Racing Circuit | November | Intercontinental GT Challenge / endurance racing |
| Simola Hillclimb / Knysna Speed Festival | Simola Hillclimb | May | Hillclimb |
| Cape Town ePrix (2023) | Cape Town Street Circuit | February | Formula E |
| A1 Grand Prix of Nations, Durban (2006-2008) | Durban Street Circuit | February | A1 Grand Prix |
| South African Grand Prix (historic, 1960-1966) | Prince George Circuit | December/January | Formula One (historic) |
| South African motorcycle Grand Prix (historic, to 2004) | Phakisa Freeway (road course) | April | MotoGP (historic) |
| FIA World Rallycross round (2017) | Killarney International Circuit | November | World Rallycross |
| National championship rounds | rotating national circuits (Kyalami, Killarney, Zwartkops, Red Star, Phakisa, Aldo Scribante, East London) | February-November | Extreme Festival / national touring car and bike championships |
Track days and driving experiences in South Africa
South Africa's track-day scene runs mainly through the circuits themselves and their affiliated clubs rather than one national booking operator. Kyalami, Killarney and Zwartkops all host regular club days, driving-school sessions and car-brand experience days (Porsche, BMW and others), typically priced from a few hundred to several thousand rand depending on car class and session length. Karting is the cheapest way onto a track: Zwartkops, Vereeniging, Formula K and iDube all offer rental-kart sessions and club racing most weekends. Track-day organisers and car clubs (such as the various marque clubs and time-attack series like Extreme Festival) regularly hire out Zwartkops, Killarney, Red Star and Phakisa for open-pitlane days.
Frequently asked questions
Does this list include horse racing tracks?+
No. This page covers motorsport venues only. Racecourses such as Turffontein (Johannesburg) and Kenilworth (Cape Town) are horse-racing tracks, a separate industry from motorsport, and are not covered here.
What is South Africa's premier race track?+
Kyalami Racing Circuit near Midrand, north of Johannesburg, is the country's best-known venue and a former Formula One host (1967-1985, 1992-1993), now home to the Kyalami 9 Hour endurance race and national championship rounds.
Has South Africa hosted Formula One or Formula E?+
Yes. Kyalami and the Prince George Circuit in East London both hosted the Formula One South African Grand Prix in past decades, and Cape Town's Green Point street circuit held a Formula E ePrix in February 2023, the only Formula E race run in Sub-Saharan Africa so far.
Is Phakisa Freeway still used for racing?+
Only intermittently. Built in 1999 on the site of the former Goldfields Raceway, Phakisa lost its anchor MotoGP round after 2004 and its speedway oval has seen very little use since; it is listed here as dormant rather than fully closed.
What happened to Roy Hesketh Circuit in Pietermaritzburg?+
Roy Hesketh was KwaZulu-Natal's national circuit from 1953 to 1981. It stopped hosting competitive motorsport after 2010 due to noise complaints and is now used mainly for informal driver training rather than racing events.
Where can I try karting in South Africa?+
Formula K in Benoni is the country's only CIK/FIA Grade A kart circuit, while Vereeniging Kart Circuit, iDube in Pietermaritzburg and the kart tracks at Zwartkops and Killarney all offer club racing and rental karting.
What is the Simola Hillclimb?+
Held every May at the Simola Estate in Knysna as part of the Knysna Speed Festival, the Simola Hillclimb is billed as the world's fastest hillclimb, with top runs of its 1.9 km course averaging over 200 km/h.
Venue list checked against 24 sources. Last reviewed 2026-09-11.
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Address: Cnr R55 & Allandale Road Kyalami Midrand 1684 South Africa Website: http://www.kyalamigrandprixcircuit.com/ Email: [email protected] Phone ...
Phakisa Freeway
Address: Phakisa Freeway, R70 between Welkom and Odendaalsrus, Free State, South Africa 9480 Website: http://www.phakisa.co.za/ Email: [email protect...
Red Star Raceway
Address: N12 Zonderfout Farm I226, Portion 5, Delmas, 2210, South Africa Website: http://www.redstarraceway.co.za Email: [email protected] Phone Num...
Zwartkops Raceway
Address: R55, Lekkerhoekie 450-Jr, Pretoria, 0137, South Africa Website: http://www.zwartkops.co.za Email: [email protected] Phone Number: 012 384 2...