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Welkom received municipal status in 1961 and was
declared a city in 1968. The Thabong township lies
on its outskirts. It is now the second largest city
in the Free State.
The town was named after the farm Welkom where
gold was first found. The word welkom is Afrikaans
for welcome.
Welkon is home to the for the Phakisa Freeway
Grand Prix racing circuit.
Phakisa (pron: pra-KEE-sha - which means “be
swift”, "hurry up" or "get moving" in
Sesotho) is
located amongst both active and exhausted gold mines
in the flat plains outside the town.
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Construction of the track commenced in
September 1998, on the site of the old
Goldfields Raceway. By late April 1999 the
first National Race event was held there.
The entire facility was completed in
time for the penultimate leg of the 1999 FIM
Motorcycle Grand Prix held in October 1999.
The track boasts a 4.24km road course as
well as a 1.5 mile banked oval track similar
to the highly acclaimed Las Vegas Motor
Speedway in Nevada, USA.
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