Soak up a 9-Hour spectacle
IT’S BACK: THE ENDURANCE RACE RETURNS TO SOUTH AFRICA AFTER A 37-YEAR ABSENCE
Eight manufacturers will be fielding cars in a race that starts at 1pm on Saturday.
For South African motorsports enthusiasts, the year’s ultimate highlight will arrive this weekend, with the Kyalami 9-Hour race, to settle the season’s Intercontinental GT Challenge.
The race – returning to these shores after an absence of 37 years – will see 29 exotic sports race cars facing the starter at 1pm on Saturday, with 20 of them competing for points in this year’s only global GT3 championship.
The series’ eight full-season manufacturers – Audi Sport, Bentley, BMW, Ferrari, Honda, MercedesAMG, Nissan and Porsche – will be joined in the race by Aston Martin and Lamborghini entries.
Topping the list will be four Mercedes-AMG cars, the team that leads both the manufacturers’ and drivers’ championships.
The Mercedes drivers in line for the individual titles are Maxi Buhk and Luca Stolz, representing the GruppeM and SPS Automotive Performance teams respectively.
Also in the reckoning to take the drivers’ title will be Audi Sport’s Frederic Vervisch, who will share an Audi R8 LMS GT3 with South African Kelvin van der Linde and Dries Vanthoor.
A second R8 LMS GT3 will be entered by the Land Motorsport team.
Other South Africans taking to the tarmac will be Jordan Pepper (Bentley Continental GT3), Sheldon van der Linde (Schnitzer BMW M6 GT3), David Perel (Rinaldi Ferrari 488 GT3), Charl Arangies/ Craig Jarvis/Dawie Joubert (Stradale Lamborghini
Huracan), Kishoor Pitamber/Michael Stephen (Pablo Clark Ferrari 488 Italia), Gennaro Bonafede/Michael van Rooyen (Walkenhorst BMW M6 GT3) and Andre Bezuidenhout/Franco Scribante/Silvio Scribante (Perfect Circle Porsche 997 GT3 R).
Porsche, the only marque capable of beating Mercedes-AMG to the manufacturers’ crown, will field 12 works drivers in the respective GPX Racing, KUS Team 75 Bernhard, Dinamic Motorsport and Frikadelli Racing teams. Bentley, Nissan and Honda will be represented by their full-season teams, while BMW will see the Walkenhorst team running two M6 models, and Team Schnitzer one.
Ferrari’s intercontinental hopes will rest with Rinaldii Racing, while three Aston Martin vantages will start, courtesy of Blancpain GT Series regulars
R-Motorsport and Garage 59.
The race will start at 1pm on Saturday and end at 10pm, which means enthusiasts will be able to witness hours of night racing.
Serious race cars look their absolute best in the dark, with flaming exhausts and glowing disc brakes adding to the already formidable spectacle, just as spectators start running the risk of becoming tired.
For some reason, race cars just appear faster and sound louder at night, bringing us a sight we seldom get to experience.
Spectators should note that the 9-Hour drivers will qualify between 2.45pm and 3.45pm on Friday, during which time the weekend’s quickest overall lap times will be set.
See you at Kyalami.
Flaming exhausts and glowing disc brakes