21/03/2013
Motorsport South Africa (MSA) has recognised the need to have a team focused on the development of Green motorsport in South Africa. After many months of discussions and planning MSA has reached an agreement with Grid Racing and Promotions (GRP), (a subsidiary of GridCars, Pty. Ltd.), to administer Green motorsport on its behalf.
GRP will carry out its activities as an independent entity under the auspices of MSA.
This partnership will result in the development of advanced drive systems for motorsport, the building of new series around green technology and exploring the integration of these technologies into traditional motorsport events (such as karting, saloon car racing, single seater racing, motorcycle racing, drag racing and rallying, to name just a few).
MSA and GridCars are both committed to seeing growth in this sector and ensuring the application of international standards to insure sustainable growth in this new field.
MSA CEO (Operations) Adrian Scholtz said, “MSA is heartened by the level of enthusiasm and commitment exhibited by GRP to date and is looking forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship that will open up new horizons for local motorsport.”
GRP, through MSA, has already built a strong relationship with the FIA’s Electric and New Energy Championship Commission (ENECC), to ensure that international standards are applied and that this new arm of motorsport is established in conjunction with the international strategy for advanced technology motorsport.
MSA has also been the authority supporting the South African Solar Challenge TM , which in 2012 was sponsored by Sasol and saw 14 teams build and test electric and hybrid vehicles over more than 4 500km.
MSA has for a number of years been committed to both environmental alignment and technological innovation, with a dedicated committee working to ensure that existing motorsport events have as little environmental impact as possible.
President of MSA’s Environmental Panel, Marius Matthee said, “MSA is committed to ensuring that all motorsport events adopt an underlying principle of respect for the environment and, through this, ensure the long term sustainability of motorsport activities. We are pleased to see GRP taking the lead in broadening the technology baseline for local motorsport”.
The Advanced Motorsport team at GridCars can be reached through the MSA office, or directly at [email protected]