The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) Chimpanzee Eden is the first and only chimpanzee sanctuary in South Africa; it is set on an area of 1000 hectare game reserve which is a 40 minute drive away from the Alkmaar Raceway and 15 kilometres out of Nelspruit.

The mission of the JGI is to rescue and care take of chimpanzees in need of refuge, therefore the Institute provides the chimpanzee with a home to live out their lives and also with the necessary attention to recover from the trauma that they have experienced.

Defending MX1 and MX2 World Champions Steve Ramon and Antonio Cairoli together with current MX2 series leader and home rider Tyla Rattray had the chance to see the chimpanzees in semi-wild surroundings with normal social interaction and behavioural patterns under group members.

ALKMAAR RACEWAY AND NELSPRUIT

The race track Alkmaar Raceway is a new improved rebuild from a previous track, which was actually voted the top track in the Northern Regions in South Africa. The 1600 metre course features all sorts of jumps and racing situations on a rich red loamy soil.

Alkmaar Raceway is built on 30 hectares of ground on the banks of the Crocodile River as the renewal work begun in November 2007. Track watering and ripping started last week to make the course look perfect for the weekend’s GP.

Nelspruit is 330 kilometres East of Johannesburg and it is located in the fertile valley of the Crocodile River; Nelspruit is the capital of the Mpumalanga province and it is extremely close to the worldwide famous Kruger Park, whose Southern access is only 60 kilometres away.

The city is the trading centre for the surrounding fruit growing area of Mpumalanga, as the production includes citrus and tropical fruits.

THE EVENT’S SCHEDULE-UPDATED

Saturday July 19: African Invitational Race (AIR) Free Practice 1 at 9:00 am; MX2 Free Practice at 10:00 am; MX1 Free Practice 1 at 11:00 am; MX2 Pre-Qualifying Practice at 12:00 am; AIR Free Practice 2 at 1:15 pm; MX1 Free Practice 2 at 2:00 pm; MX2 Qualifying Race 1 at 3:00 pm; MX2 Qualifying Race 2 at 3:45 pm; MX1 Time Practice at 4:30 pm; MX2 Last Chance Qualifying Practice at 5:10 pm (local time).

Sunday July 20: African Invitational Race (AIR) Warm-up at 9:00 am; MX2 Warm-up at 9:30 am; MX1 Warm-up at 10:00 am; AIR Race 1 at 11:10 am; MX2 Grand Prix Race 1 at 12:10 am; MX1 Grand Prix Race 1 at 1:10 pm; AIR Race 2 at 2:10 pm; MX2 Grand Prix Race 2 at 3:03 pm; MX1 Grand Prix Race 2 at 4:03 pm (local time).