This past weekend was a bumper few days for South African motorsport fans. Johannesburg played host to the IGTC Kyalami 9 Hour. Closer to ‘home’ for Double Apex was the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix. It is the latter event we attended and, we have to admit, we walked away thoroughly impressed.

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First in Southern Africa

We have been reporting about a Formula E race coming to Cape Town since news first broke in 2019. However, the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix was not the series’ first visit to Africa with a race taking place in Morocco on five previous occasions. The Cape Town race was the first in Sub-Saharan Africa,

Click here to read our round-up of the 2023 Formula One pre-season test.

Race fans from all over SA came out in full force (an estimated 20 000) and we could not spot a single empty seat on any of the grandstands. Enthusiasts were positive about the event and there seemed to be quite a buzz about the event. There were also several recognisable faces at the historic event. Current national rugby team captain Siya Kolisi; DJ, producer and songwriter Black Coffee; former Springbok captain and 1995 Rugby World Cup winner Francois Pienaar as well as former Proteas cricket captain Graeme Smith were all seen rubbing shoulders with the drivers at some point.

Check out some image highlights in our exclusive gallery below.

Thrilling Race

The FIA-sanctioned event was truly world-class from an organisational perspective. The layout of the circuit proved tricky and demanding. There were spill aplenty from the first practice session all the way into the race. Rookie Sacha Fenestraz (Nissan) set the fastest lap in Formula E history during qualifying with an average speed of 154,987 km/h.

There were some extremely brave overtaking moves, especially at the fastest part of the circuit. Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa won ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Penske) and Nick Cassidy (Envision Racing). The drivers, too, were positive about the event, the track layout and the location with many stating that they are looking forward to returning next year.

You can watch all the race highlights of the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix in the video below.