Lynne Bright: South African among female officials at Singapore Grand Prix

A South African motorsport event secretary, Lynne Bright Kariega, formerly Uitenhage, has been chosen to represent South Africa as an official at this year’s Singapore Formula One Grand Prix.

Bright, the events secretary at the Aldo Scribante Raceway near Port Elizabeth, will be one of 21 female officials from around the world invited to the event by the FIA, motorsport’s international regulatory body.

The FIA’s Women in Motorsports Commission is running and financing a women officials exchange programme this year, with Bright chosen from hundreds of applications from all over the planet.

She will leave South Africa on 26 September for the event. Bright, 59, started to officiate at Eastern Cape karting events in 2000.

She has been involved with motorsport since, mostly as event secretary at multiple events in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro and the annual Knysna Hillclimb.

She is also Motorsport South Africa’s Eastern Province regional committee secretary. The Bright family has thrived in motorsport for many years. Bright’s husband Sparky worked as a technician for the Opel Motorsport team through the iconic Kadett Superboss era, after which he branched out to run karting and long circuit racing teams in the Eastern Cape.

He is currently employed as events organiser at the Aldo Scribante Raceway, working alongside Bright. Their son Chassen, a multiple former South African karting champion, is currently employed by the Hyundai world championship motorsport team.

“I am hugely excited about the opportunity and look forward to actually see F1 Grand Prix cars in the carbon-fibre, so to speak,” Bright said this week.

Anton Roux, chair of Motorsport South Africa’s board, said: “This is excellent news, especially during Women’s Month. “Motorsport officials do a tough, often thankless, job with huge dedication, with very little of racing’s supposed glamour shining on them.

“It is great when the actual worldwide motorsport controlling body reaches out and rewards a stalwart like Lynne.”

– andredk@citizen.co.za