Seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton. Picture: Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images
There can’t be a better feeling for a sportsman or sportswoman than to do what they do best against the world’s elite on the international stage in front of their home fans.
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The Springbok rugby team won the World Cup on home soil in 1995, Bafana Bafana were triumphant at home at the Africa Cup of Nations in 1996, our swimmers and athletes have excelled at in various competitions in Mzansi and any local golfer that can lift his national trophy on a South African golf course will tell you that’s what dreams are made of.
So, it’s no wonder then that South African MotoGP rider Brad Binder dreams of the day he can race against the world’s best at Kyalami.
While there has been plenty of speculation and hope that Formula One will return to Kyalami after last hosting a F1 race in 1993, the sad reality is that a lot has to still be upgraded to make that a reality and meet F1 requirements.
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It’s felt that if F1 returns to South Africa, it opens the door for MotoGP to follow. The last premier class bike racing at Kyalami was in 1992.
Binder said: “I would love it to happen. I could never imagine sleeping in my own bed at home and then going to a MotoGP race. That would be pretty sick.”
Multiple F1 championship winner Lewis Hamilton hasn’t given up on top-class racing returning to Kyalami. Binder certainly hasn’t… and nor should we.
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