Dezzi Raceway revamped ahead of the 2019 race season. Dezzi Raceway on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast is one of the more challenging circuits in South Africa. A mixture of blind corners, a long straight and elevation changes making it an interesting and testing place to drive, let alone race, for driver and machine. With the Indian Ocean serving as a backdrop, it is also one of the most scenic circuits in the country.

Click here to read about an 11-year-old motorcycle racer who has cut his teeth at Dezzi Raceway

KZN’s racing home

The track possessed an incredible opening sequence from Turns 1 to 4. A tight left-hander slowed vehicles after the start-finish straight. From there things got really tricky as one had to contend with a blind approach into T2 and a plunging downhill ‘corkscrew’ section that made up Turns 3 and 4.

In the off season the owners revamped the track layout in accordance with requests from the racing fraternity in KZN, which has made the facility on the Hibiscus Coast their home.

A new look

The entry to Turn 1 has been widened a little on the inside. The blind approach to T2 has now been flattened and much of the negative camber from T3 has been removed. The elevation change from Turn 4 has been reduced and Turn 5 is not as acute as it used to be.

New tar covers all these sections so any bumpiness that has manifested over the years has also been removed. Lap times will undoubtedly fall as the track flows much faster than was previously the case. You can see the changes in our exclusive video below.

Facility owner, and all round petrolhead, Des Gutzeit chatted with Double Apex for this story: “When we built the track many years ago, it was created specifically for drifting, with a lot of negative camber in some places. The track has now become so popular with the racers that we decided to make the change to accommodate them as well.”

A first

For the very first time that we can recall, the South African National Circuit Racing championship will kick off in KZN. The opening round will take place on March 2. This will be the first time any racing action takes place on the revised and revamped Dezzi Raceway.

Special thanks to Colin Windell for the video footage and interview with D Gutzeit.

For comparison purposes, and to see what the track layout was like last year, click this link.