Motor racing-Rwanda circuit set to be a fast, flowing roller-coaster

Rwanda's Formula One circuit ​will be fast and flowing with ​a lot of elevation ‌changes and ​spectators able to get close to the action, designers said on Tuesday after the announcement of a 10-year ‌deal for the first African Grand Prix since 1993.

The circuit, alongside a new international airport under construction at Bugesera some 40 km (25 miles) south of the capital Kigali, has ‌yet to be built and is not expected to host a race ‌until the early 2030s. Carsten Tilke, managing partner of the Tilke company founded by his father Hermann that has built circuits around the world, told a press conference that the track would unfold between ⁠two ​hills offering a natural ⁠grandstand and alongside a lake.

"We can bring the spectators very close," he said. "The drivers will love ⁠the track because it has so much elevation going up and down, high bankings. It ​will be very fast, flowing and really integrated in nature. "On the other hand, ⁠we also have a long straight of over one kilometre where you have a hard braking ⁠point ​where you also have good overtakings.

"We go very close to the lake with fast corner combinations" Tilke said the paddock would be terraced, using the natural topography ⁠and inspired by local villages and cultures.

Designer and former racer Alex Wurz said the ⁠proposed layout was ⁠like a roller-coaster and truly unique, with an elevation gain of 197 metres (646 feet) over the course of a lap.