Red Star Raceway, Racing Circuit

Red Star Raceway sits at Delmas, around 50 miles east of Johannesburg in South Africa, conceived by motorcycling enthusiast Jacques van Wyngaardt as a family-friendly venue where bikers could lap safely. He and his family bought the site in 2009 and, despite delays from heavy summer rains, completed the circuit by 2010. Designed by van Wyngaardt with civil engineers Andy Farmer and Kevin Owen, the full course measures 4 km and combines medium-speed bends, several hairpins and three straights, with vast grassy run-off areas reflecting its grass-roots, safety-first ethos. An unusual feature is that the track is run anti-clockwise from January to June and clockwise from July to December. The paddock, known as Red Star Square, offers a restaurant, accessories shop, children's facilities and on-site holiday cabins, and the venue has added training centres, a skid pan and driver-training facilities. From track-day origins it has grown to host major national championships, with the South African Superbike series arriving in 2019 and the Sasol GTC touring car championship becoming a regular fixture. It has also staged corporate driving events for manufacturers including Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Jaguar and Ferrari.