The first thing we have to understand is the reality we face in Africa. One of the biggest challenges has always been the currency and the cost of competing internationally. When you bring African drivers to Europe to race and develop, the costs escalate very quickly.

I’ve been in this sport for more than 32 years. I’ve lived in Europe, raced here, and I understand what it takes for a driver to grow in this environment. At some stage in every driver’s career, they have to face the best in the world, and Europe is where that level currently exists.

Our goal with Karting Africa is to elevate the level of motorsport on the continent as high as possible. But realistically, that’s a 10–20 year project. You don’t build that level overnight. When you’re building something like this, you have to think long-term — not only about the current generation, but the next two or three generations of drivers.

That’s why we decided to take control of our own destiny.

Instead of relying on external expertise, we made the decision to develop our own chassis. We’ve partnered with TB Kart, who will manufacture the Karting Africa chassis for us. The base chassis design we are starting with is already extremely competitive and has achieved podium results in Europe, so we’re beginning from a very strong technical platform.

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From there, we’ll continue to develop and evolve it.

TB Kart have been very open and flexible in working with us, and they respect the experience we bring. I was a factory driver for CRG, and over the years I’ve worked closely with many top manufacturers, so I understand how these chassis work and how they can be improved.

With our African drivers involved in the development process, we’ll continue refining the product.

Is it an overnight project? Absolutely not. But April will mark a historic moment, because we’ll have an African-driven project developing and competing at the international level.

We’re starting with two drivers and focusing on development. I genuinely believe that within six months to a year, we’ll have a product capable of competing with the best in the world. The investment is there — we have the factory, the jigs, the tables, and the tools needed to continuously evolve the chassis.

Another key factor for us is cost. Our goal is to produce a chassis capable of competing at the highest level, but at a fraction of the cost, potentially even a quarter of what many teams are currently spending. That makes the pathway far more accessible for African drivers.

The European base is part of that strategy. It allows our drivers to train, test, and compete in the most competitive environment while still building the African program alongside it. We’re also working closely with the FIA on future initiatives for Africa, and there will be more announcements coming later this year.