Short-format racing a goal for local sports media personality
The joyous and upbeat ambiance of local media personality Kriya Gangiah was felt throughout the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit as she walked from the track to the stands in an effort to cover the best parts of the Kyalami 9-Hour.
The love of motorsports and cars flows through many people’s veins and none more so than local sports media personality Kriya Gangiah.
Gangiah (34) was at the heart of reporting and content creation for the recent three-day Kyalami 9 Hour race and became a familiar face within the South African motorsports scene.
Gangiah grew up watching motorsport alongside her father. “When I got into the sport, my first sports job was for the Rally South African Championships. From there, it just kind of snowballed to where we are now,” she said.
Commenting on the reputation motorsport has of being male-dominated, Gangiah said, “Coming to a racetrack and doing an event like this, there still is a lack of women representation, specifically in South Africa. Internationally [in motorsport], there are CEOs, CFOs, and managing director roles [that have more women.]. South Africa does not have that.
“I’ve been to some racetracks across South Africa that don’t even have women’s bathrooms, and that is so bad. To see stuff like that is really sad. To be in the field, I’m super happy and super excited about it.”
She hoped girls would realise there were other opportunities in motorsport other than being racing drivers and they could be mechanics, engineers, involved in strategy, or even behind or in front of the camera.
Looking to the future, Gangiah said she would love to cover short-format races such as Formula 1.
“At the moment, I’m super happy in endurance [racing] and the people here are like family. People always make sure you’re taken care of.”
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