The name Kyalami derives from the Zulu phrase "Khaya lami," meaning "My home." The circuit was designed and cleared by Harry Pierce and Dick Bremner along with a small group of friends and workers in the mid-1950s. Bremner served as chairman of the South African Automotive Racing Association and was instrumental in hosting early international teams at the venue. The track opened on 4 November 1961 with the Kyalami 9 Hours endurance race.
The original layout measured approximately 4.1 km and ran in a clockwise direction. A lap began near the pit lane entrance on the Main Straight, which descended downhill into the first corner.
The original configuration featured nine corners, each named with reference to local geography, culture, or racing tradition:
Crowthorne Corner was a tight right-hander opening the lap, named after a nearby hotel. Barbecue Bend followed as a medium-speed right-hander. Jukskei Sweep was a long, fast left-hand curve named for the Jukskei River close to the track. Sunset Bend was a fast right-hander where drivers faced the setting sun. Clubhouse Bend, a 90-degree left-hander, was named for the motorsport club facility adjacent to it. The Esses consisted of two linked bends — a left-hander followed by a steep uphill right-hander. Finally, Leeukop Bend was a tight right-hand hairpin named after the prominent local hill and the prison behind it. The Kink was a right deviation that split the long main straight into two sections before the pit complex.
The layout's combination of the fast Jukskei Sweep and Sunset Bend, the long main straight, and the stadium-like visibility from the surrounding terrain made Kyalami a popular venue for both drivers and spectators.
From 1967 onwards the circuit hosted the South African Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World Championship. It held the event annually, with a break enforced by international political sanctions relating to apartheid from 1985. The final Formula One race on the original layout was held in 1985.
Niki Lauda was the most successful driver at Kyalami, winning there three times. Jackie Stewart, Alain Prost, and Nigel Mansell each won twice. Jody Scheckter became the only South African driver to win their home grand prix when he triumphed in the 1975 edition. Ferrari and Williams were the most successful constructors at Kyalami, each taking four victories.
The most infamous edition of the South African Grand Prix on the original layout was in 1977. During the race, Welsh driver Tom Pryce was killed when his car struck race marshal Frederick Jansen van Vuuren, who had run across the track to assist a stricken car. Both men died. Pryce's death, at a circuit he had not been warned was dangerous at that point, became one of the most shocking accidents of an era already defined by severe loss.
Political sanctions related to South Africa's apartheid government led to the South African Grand Prix being dropped after 1985. Club and national racing continued at Kyalami, with the final event on the original circuit held on 26 November 1988. The circuit was then rebuilt in 1989 as part of a commercial development. Leeukop Bend, the Kink, and several other features of the original layout were eliminated. The rebuilt circuit was shorter, narrower, and significantly slower — a configuration that Formula One rejected after only two races in 1992 and 1993.
The original Kyalami layout occupies a distinct place in the history of African motor racing. For two decades it was the continent's only Formula One venue, and the high-speed character of the track produced memorable racing. The loss of that circuit to commercial redevelopment and the subsequent failure of the rebuilt version to retain a place on the Formula One calendar left South African motorsport without a world championship race for a generation. Restoration efforts since 2014 under new ownership have brought the circuit back to FIA Grade 2 standard, though the original layout's combination of speed and topography remains unreproduced.