From Motoring.co.za
I can see it already - trip down to Nelspruit for the weekend, watch some MX, ride around a bit... makings of a great weekend
Motorsport SA and World Motocross championship rights-holder Youthstream have signed a five-year agreement to host an annual round of the FIM World Motocross series in South Africa from 2008.
The SA Motocross GP will be held at the Alkmaar Raceway near Nelspruit from July 18-20 and will be SS's only World championship motorsport event in 2008.
It will be one of 16 rounds in the series and will cater for the MX1 (450 four-stroke/250 two-stroke) and MX2 (250 four-stroke/125 two-stroke) categories.
MSA MD Beaulah Schoeman told a media conference: "We have a strong motocross heritage that has produced two World champions. Greg Albertyn won the 125cc World championship in 1992 and the 250cc World championship in 1993 and 1994 while Grant Langston took the 125cc World title in 2000.
"MSA is delighted to take the sport into a new era."
She added that the search was still on for title and other sponsors but she was confident of securing the financial future of the event.
The rights fee alone was about R3.4-million. The gate at the 2006 SA MX GP at Sun City brought in about R1.7-million, excluding sponsorships and other income.
Her calculations for 2008 suggested a worst-case scenario of a R300 000 deficit, implying that MSA was willing to underwrite this loss to ensure the event went ahead.
Schoeman said: "We've been encouraged by the response from potential sponsors and we're confident we can safeguard the future of the SA Motocross GP
"The level of co-operation we've already had from the Mpumalanga government is impressive."
Nelspruit and the Alkmaar circuit were chosen as the host venues because they met international standards, including a nearby international airport and accommodation.
The circuit will be upgraded to meet the requirements set by a recent FIM inspection.
SuperSport will broadcast all 16 events on the 2008 calendar.
Tickets for the 2008 SA Motocross GP are already available through Computicket. R240 will get you a two-day pass, R110 through the gates on Saturday only. A Sunday-only ticket will cost R210 (under-12's half-price).
I can see it already - trip down to Nelspruit for the weekend, watch some MX, ride around a bit... makings of a great weekend
