Consortium still optimistic over Cape Town Grand Prix

CAPE TOWN - The Cape Town Grand Prix South Africa consortium positive it can bring a Formula One race to the Mother City in the near future.

In an exclusive interview, Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone told EWN Sport that South Africa's hopes of hosting a race are non-existent at the moment, unless somebody who's in a position to make a commitment presents him with a concrete plan to bring it to the country.

[LISTEN] Exclusive interview with Bernie Ecclestone & EWN Sport:

Cape Town city bosses or provincial government will need to be 100 percent committed to bringing the race to Cape Town.

The consortium's CEO Igshaan Amlay says that's their next step.

Amlay says they'll meet with the City of Cape Town soon

"We, however, are focusing on clearly on what has been requested by him, one in particular is getting the buy in from the City of Cape Town and I think negotiations will only take place once we get the buy in from the City and from the province."

EWN'S EXCLUSIVE WITH ECCLESTONE

In the interview, Ecclestone told EWN SPORT that South Africa's hopes of hosting a race in the near future are non-existent unless somebody 'who's in a position to make a commitment' presents the sport's bosses with a concrete plan to bring it to the country.

In an exclusive interview from London, the 84-year-old though once again reiterated his desire for a race to return to South Africa, which last featured on the calendar in 1993.

With the time zone and climate so well-suited to the sport that attracts a global audience, Ecclestone remains desperate for a stop on the continent to become a fixture again.

"If somebody sits in front of me today, with a pen, and wants to sign a contract there can be a race next year."

It's understood that the Cape Town Grand Prix South Africa consortium are the frontrunners following initial discussions, with a street race in the heart of the city, but according to Ecclestone he hasn't been presented with a firm proposal that seems to have the requisite financial and administrative backing from both local and national governments, as well as, crucially, the private sector.

"I think it's really a case of someone getting behind this and saying, 'we're going to make it happen' because unless somebody does that it will just bumble on like it is with a lot of interest, and when it really comes down to it nobody is really making the effort to do anything."

In June this year, Amlay said they'd be engaging City of Cape Town officials 'within weeks' to present their plans after meeting with Ecclestone, who's unwilling to rate the city's chances of hosting the event for what would be a five year contract.

"(It's) Impossible to say because I think there's a big percentage of having another meeting and another conversation which will produce nothing. There's been various suggestions over where the race should be: the one that I thought was sensible for Cape Town and everything was a street race in Cape Town which looked as if it was all going to go ahead, and then didn't go ahead.

"Someone needs to be, and speak about this, who's in a position to make a commitment and there hasn't been anybody."

Ecclestone also says that he has no meetings planned as yet with either the bidders or government officials about a proposal.

He also moved to dispel any notion of nerves of doing business with South Africa in light of the scandal currently surrounding Fifa and the country's disputed contribution to a fund in the Caribbean in the light of the hosting of the 2010 World Cup.

"We won't be bribed and we won't bribe anyone, so I don't care. I'm not the slightest bit interested in what other people do and I'm quite sure that what happened with the football as happened in South Africa like many, many parts of the world in all sorts of other businesses and politics."