The FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy has signed Gumtree SA as the headline sponsor of the final round of the World Championship, which takes place at Cape Town’s Killarney International Raceway (10-12 November 2017). As part of the new partnership, the World RX season-closer will be officially named as Gumtree World RX of South Africa.
Gumtree SA is the country’s leading online classifieds site and the new partnership with World RX will allow the brand to use the World Championship’s global platform for various advertising and promotional purposes. The deal also includes onsite activation rights, track branding rights, content creation plus various hospitality packages.
The Cape Town leg of World RX is the only new addition to the rallycross calendar in 2017 and marks the first time that the World Championship has visited the continent of Africa. Dating back to 1947, Killarney International Raceway had its first taste of international Formula One racing when the non-championship Cape Grand Prix was held at Killarney back in 1960. Since then, the complex has grown and hosts several forms of main circuit racing as well as motocross, karting, stock cars and drag racing.
The new rallycross circuit at Killarney is about a third of the size of the main circuit and is twisty in nature with a jump. The gravel and asphalt track will use sections of the existing circuit between Turn 2 (Engen Corner) and Turn 3 (Rose Foundation Corner). Several low level grandstands around the stock car oval have already been demolished and will be replaced by larger structures. A grass bank for spectators is currently under construction.
World RX Managing Director for IMG, Paul Bellamy, spoke positively about Gumtree SA partnering with Cape Town RX. “It is an honour to have Gumtree SA onboard and supporting the first ever rallycross event to be staged in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a key player in the auto trader sector, Gumtree SA is the perfect fit and we are confident that our global platform can help promote the brand to a wider audience who are both digitally-savvy and passionate about the automotive industry.”
Gumtree SA Director-GM, Johan Nel, added: “Gumtree is thrilled to participate in this landmark event. Our automotive category is our most popular by far, drawing close to a million and a half visitors every month. The motoring community has always been staunch supporters of our site and this event marks our commitment to them and to the industry at large
