MBABANE – Dreams do come true and Motorsport Eswatini Executive Committee member Nhlanhla Maphanga believes the country can up the level.
Maphanga, a former Mbabane Swallows and national team Sihlangu goalkeeper, has started encouraging all those in the local motorsport industry to start dreaming of a future in Formula One, following the successful first edition of the Formula E Championship in neighbouring South Africa (SA), known as the Cape Town ePrix last month. Maphanga said it was exciting to see ABB FIA Formula E World Championship being staged in the African continent.
Exciting
“The Cape Town ePrix was recently held in Cape Town and it was very exciting for the African continent. The tournament organisers have been all along looking at African countries to host such events. “The cost of setting the infrastructure is very prohibitive but should we find the right partners, maybe one day we can be one of the first small countries in the continent to host a Formula E event like this one,” he said. Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by then FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, who is also the current chairman of Formula E holdings. The inaugural championship race was held in Beijing in September 2014. Since 2020, the series has FIA world championship status. Cape Town was recently the first sub-Saharan African city to host a round of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship which took place on February 25.
Competing
Maphanga also mentioned that for the sport to grow in the country this year, there should be more local racers competing outside the country.
“Everyone knows how to drive the cars but here in motorsport there is something called race licence whereby with that licence, it is when we can take you seriously as a driver who knows how to race professionally. “The level in the country in the recent past years has increased a lot and I have a lot of confidence in them that they can really compete with other racers from outside the country,” Maphanga said. He said there was talent in the country but the drivers needed international exposure as they could compete beyond the borders.