The hotly contested South African Endurance Championship Connected by Vodacom 4U is set to blow away the winter chill when battle resumes at the iconic Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit on 25 and 26 July, the first of three Gauteng-based events.
Race fans can look forward to an action-packed programme which includes a full complement of support races for Sports & GT machinery, MRSSA Motorcycles and a packed grid of Silvercup 2.0 cars.
Heading the SA Endurance championship points log following victory at round two in Gqeberha and a rain-soaked third round in Cape Town, is the Into Africa Racing Lamborghini team of Xolile Letlaka and Stuart White who will once again be joined by Axcil Jefferies.
Jefferies was instrumental in the team’s Killarney success after a phenomenal drive across the last half hour of the race when he fought his way to victory lane after an unscheduled late race pit stop to change a punctured tyre.
The team’s brand-new Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo 2 will make its Gauteng debut as the team settles into the second half of the season with an eye on further victories in their quest to defend the SA Endurance National Championship which they won last year.
The Adjust for Sleep/Rico Barlow Racing Nova Proto NP02 entry of Nick Adcock, Michael Jensen and Charl Michael Visser will go head-to-head with the Into Africa team as they have done all season long. Adcock missed the second round due to his racing commitments in the European Le Mans Series while Jensen missed rounds two and three as he prepared for his inaugural Le Mans 24-Hour appearance.
Both drivers bring vast international racing experience to the team while Visser is one of the brightest talents on the local motorsport scene, marking the sleek sports-prototype racer as a strong contender for victory.
Bradley Liebenberg, a multiple saloon car champion, and rising star Ryan Naicker will represent Audi with their Stradale Motorsport-run R8 LMS Evo. Liebenberg shared the Audi in Cape Town and finished on the third step of the podium, while recording a best speed marginally faster than the Nova.
Naicker was part of the Rico Barlow driver lineup that won the opening round of the SA Endurance Championship in February and has gained further experience racing a variety of machinery in the intervening months, adding a third bow to the fight for overall victory.
Marius Jackson, a regular competitor in the SA Endurance Championship, has changed allegiance from Audi to Porsche and has entered his new 911 GT3 R Type 991 Gen2 which he debuted in Cape Town to great effect. Joined by his protegee Joseph Ellerine, the MJR Motorsport entry’s progress will be watched with interest.
21-year-old Ellerine has been honing his racing craft in the cut-and-thrust world of the ADAC GT4 championship in Germany behind the wheel of a BMW M4 GT4 and is eager to show his progression since he last raced in the SA Endurance Championship.
Marking their first appearance of the year is Hein and Henk Lategan in their BBR Porsche 911 GT3 Cup machine. Lategan senior’s motorsport career stretches over 30 years and has been absent this season due to his business commitments. Henk is a four-time SA Rally-Raid Champion, and the winner of the recent World Rally-Raid Championship round held in South Africa and was the runner-up in this year’s Dakar Rally.
Lategan Jr is no slouch on tarmac as his appearances have shown on his ad hoc appearances over the past two seasons.
The fight in Class B should be between the Ford Mustang IRC – yet another new car making its Gauteng debut – and the G&H Transport Audi R8 GT4 of the Giannoccaro brothers Ricky and Gianni who are joined by Ant Blunden.
The experienced G&H Team will be looking to put their disappointing Cape Town outing behind them where they were forced to retire with overheating issues after being forced off the wet track by another competitor while leading their class.
The Australian-built Mustang pumps out 550hp from its 6.2l V8 engine which will be tamed by the double Mobil 1 V8 Supercars champion Julian Familiaris and veteran V8 racer Franco di Matteo with Romano Sartori rounding out the trio. The car finished a solid fifth overall on its maiden appearance in Port Elizabeth and should be in the fight for a top placing at Kyalami.
Class C is an all-Volkswagen affair between the Graphix Supply World Polo SupaCup of the father and son duo of Robert and David Franco and Korridas Racing entry from Mozambique.
The Francos had an adventurous outing last time out yet managed to bring their car home in second place in their class after some fast, consistent racing in the torrential conditions. They should be quick at Kyalami as they look to close down the ten point deficit to the class leaders.
The Hisense-backed Korridas Racing entry features four drivers for their Golf GTi Turbo. The regular duo of Bruno Campos and Sandro Alves are joined by Mauro Almeida and Mario Barbosa and should be in podium contention given a clean run across the four hours.
The defending V8 Roadster and Index of Performance National Champions, Harm and Barend Pretorius should have a clean run to the class win in their Team Pesty Backdraft Roadster as many of their rivals have opted out of the Kyalami round for myriad of reasons.
The Pretorius father and son team won the double-points scoring round at Killarney in early June which propelled them to the top of the championship standings with a five-point gap to their nearest rival, while a strong outing at Kyalami should stand them in good stead as they look to defend their double championship titles.
1-Hour Dash
The first hour of the Four-Hours of Kyalami features the National Challenge 1-Hour Dash with just a single point separating the top two protagonists after three rounds.
Damien Hammond has won the last two rounds in his Liqui Moly/Samlin Racing Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo Evo. Andrew Horne has raced to two podiums across from three outings, banking two seconds and a fourth which sees the Xena Chemicals Ligier-Honda JS 49 driver running in second place with a respectable 23-point lead over Antonie Marx in his Shelby CanAm.
Marx, in his first year in the 1-Hour Dash championship, has also scored consistently and claimed a maiden podium at the opening round.
Charl Arangies should set the cat amongst the pigeons in his Vaal Fluid Systems Porsche 911 GT3 R; the monster machine from Stuttgart has almost swept all before it in whatever category it has raced in and should be considered a strong contender for the Dash victory.
Mo Mia and Roy Obery, backed by Haval Edenvale, add further strength to the Porsche brigade in their 991.2 GT3 Cup car and 911.2 MR editions respectively. The two rivals are separated by two points on the championship log and will once again put on a terrific show for the spectators.
Wayne Roach will field his Samlin Racing Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo adding further intrigue to the outcome of the race, having raced to a podium finish on his first outing of the year at Killarney.
When and How Much
Track action gets underway on Thursday afternoon with two free practice sessions with two further sixty-minute practice sessions scheduled for Friday at 08h00 and 10h45.
The all-important Qualifying session is scheduled for Friday at 13h45. The Four-Hours of Kyalami and 1-Hour Dash get the green light at 13h00 on Saturday.
General Access tickets cost R250 while kids under 12 get in free of charge. Spectators are welcome to bring their gazebos, gas braais and cooler boxes and park anywhere around the circuit to enjoy the day’s racing.
VIP Experience tickets, which includes Food and three Beverage Vouchers, Grid Walk, Dedicated Private Seating Area, and a private Cash Bar are available for R650 per person.
