Porsche takes pole position
BLANKET FINISH: LESS THAN A SECOND COVERED THE TOP-15 TEAMS IN QUALIFYING SESSIONS
All-German team’s Audi R8 shares the front row with Tandy, Jaminet and Olsen in the 9-Hour at Kyalami.
The contenders in today’s 9-Hour race at Kyalami could hardly have boasted a closer starting grid. After qualifying sessions for all three drivers from every team, plus a 10-minute Pole Shoot-out for the quickest 10 drivers, the times of the top-15 teams on the grid were covered by less than a second.
That was remarkable, considering half of the qualifying sessions were held in rain.
Starting from pole position at 1pm today will be the Porsche 911 GT3 of Britain’s Nick Tandy, Frenchman Mathieu Jaminet and Norway’s Dennis Olsen.
They will share the front row of the grid with the Audi R8 GT3 of Germans Markus Winkelhock, Christopher Mies and Christoper Haase, ahead of the MercedesBenz AMG of Italian Raffaele Marciello and Germans Max Buhk and Maro Engel and the Porsche 911 GT3 of Dane Michael Christensen, Frenchman Kevin Estre and Austrian Richard Leitz.
The quickest South African driver was Sheldon van der Linde, who will start in sixth place with the Schnitzer BMW M6 GT3 he shares with German Martin Tomczyk and Brazilian Augusto Farfus.
The second quickest South African was Jordan Pepper, in 13th place with Frenchman Jules Gounon and Belgian Maxime Soulet in the leading Bentley Continental
GT3.
Spectators are expected to arrive at the circuit from early today, with a public pit walk due to commence at 9am.
There will be a combined 10-lap Falken Polo Cup and MotorMart VW Challenge race at 10.40am, plus a classic car, supercar and 9-hour legends parade at 11.15am.
The pit lane will open for the 9-Hour at 12.15pm, with the cars released on their formation lap at 12.55pm.
The race will start at 1pm and end at 10pm.
Meanwhile, starting at 2.30pm, a music concert will feature followed by Black Coffee and his Africa is not a Jungle crew.
Throughout the day, people over the age of 12 can display their own driving skills in 270cc karts around the venue’s dynamic handling track.
The same area will host a show by the Soweto Drift Academy, while you can book a helicopter flight over the track and Sandton City.
A reminder – you may park on the Kyalami grounds at R100 per vehicle, payable by card only at the gate, and you are welcome to take camping chairs and gazebos.
You may not take in braais, alcohol, weapons or glass bottles on to the premises.