TopGear South Africa launches its own Test Track

Taking cues from the famous BBC TopGear’s playbook, the TopGear Test Track is a first for a publication of its kind outside of the UK.

The 3.5-km track allows for the local publication to expand its content portfolio and deliver uniquely South African motoring content, produced within the confines of a controlled environment, in order to achieve visually stimulating content. Part of the content expansion are a number of series’ that should be familiar to the TopGear audience. The first of these is the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car, an insert that will see South African celebrities attempting on- screen, their fastest lap around the circuit.

The main aim of the track, however, is to allow the TopGear SA team to conduct its own performance testing in the safest environment possible with repeatability and uniformity for each car in mind. From straight-line performance testing to actual timed laps, braking and weight transition parameters being put to the test, the TopGear Test Track will produce results for the TopGear SA Fastest Lap board.

Also announced at the event were a number of large scale features and events on the horizon:

The first of these is the confirmation of the first ever TopGear Awards here in South Africa, proudly powered by Wesbank. The TopGear Awards will take place at the end of the year announcing all of the best cars in a variety of categories.
The annual TopGear Speed Week 2023 takes place at the end of October. Speed Week is the largest performance feature for the publication as they aim to find out the best performance car in South Africa.

Lerato Matebese, Publishing Editor at Clipping Point Publishing comments: “A long time coming, finally launching the TopGear SA test track, is another feather in the cap of our continuous growth strategy. The facility allows us to put each car through the same, rigorous test to see how these would perform bone-stock from the dealer floor. While this will be great for car debates at the braai or carwash, it also puts into perspective each car’s performance credentials in a controlled environment.

Avon Middleton, Publisher at Clipping Point Publishing comments: “Of course, we’re thrilled to be able to have such an exclusive facility that allows us to do so much of what the TopGear brand has become known for. If one considers any memories of the TopGear brand – a track like this one must come to mind at some point. With this, we aim to deliver even more engaging and entertaining content and give South African audiences a little more.”