Kyalami to host racing and music festival this weekend

Three-hour and nine-hour races will be complemented by a concert featuring Zakes Bantwini and Prime Circle

28 November 2024 - 13:37 By MOTORING REPORTER
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Kyalami raceway will be action packed with various classes of the SA endurance racing series over three days.
Kyalami raceway will be action packed with various classes of the SA endurance racing series over three days.
Image: SUPPLIED

The motorsport extravaganza of the Three and Nine Hours of Kyalami double-header takes place on Friday and Saturday. 

It's the final round of the SA Endurance Series (SAES) national championship, where three national championships will also be decided. 

All the teams that have entered the three-hour race will compete in the Nine Hours of Kyalami, with a local and international contingent of drivers competing, including fourth overall winner in the 2024 Mobil 1 Porsche Supercup, Keagan Masters.

The range of cars competing in various classes include high-power GT racers such as Audi R8s, Lamborghini Gallardos and Huracán Super Trofeos, Mercedes-AMG GT3s, Volkswagen Polo SupaCups, Honda Civic Type Rs and the roaring Cobras of the national V8 roadster championship.

Three Hours of Kyalami — Friday

The curtain raiser starts on Friday morning. Topping the points table after four rounds are Xolile Letlaka and Stuart White in their Into Africa Lamborghini Huracán GT3. 

The BBR Porsche GT3 Cup entry of Hein Lategan and Verissimo Tavares also competes here, the team boasting newly crowned four-time SA Rally-Raid Champion Henk Lategan as spare driver. Lategan heads to Saudi Arabia in January as lead driver for the Dakar 2024 Toyota Gazoo Racing team.

The Rico Barlow Racing/Adjust for Sleep Nova entry drivers include Briton Nick Adcock and Dane Michael Jensen, who won the 2024 European Le Mans Series LMP3 category.

Class C has Claudio and Mario Rossi in a brand-new Alfa Romeo Giulia QV, while class D will see the lone Combined Racing Civic Type R of Paulo and Ricardo Loureiro taking on the class D champions in a VW Polo SupaCup.

The Backdraft V8 series forms part of the Kyalami 9 Hour spectacle.
The Backdraft V8 series forms part of the Kyalami 9 Hour spectacle.
Image: SUPPLIED

V8 Roadster Championship

The open-top racing category will see the likes of Pesty Racing Backdraft team of Harm and Barend Pretorius duking it out against the all-lady crew of Fabienne Lanz and Lonika Maartens and team Qhubani duo of Fikile Holomisa, Baphiwe Rubuluza and Setshaba Mashego in the Toyota GR86 racer.

One-Hour Dash — Friday and Saturday

The Interprovincial One-Hour Dash is a race-within-a race where competitors race for the first hour only in any of the SA Endurance races, irrespective of duration of the races.

The championship is a two-way battle between Mike Verrier in his Shelby-CanAm and Jean-Pierre Stander in his Ligier-Honda JS53 Evo, while 12 entries in total — including Craig Jarvis in the Ginetta G57 LMP3 , Charl Arangies in the G&H Transport McLaren MP4-12C GT3s, Maarten Jeroen Prins and Shayur Harpal in a Porsche GT3 Cup and Karshen Naickers in a Lotus Elise — join the fray.

Entertainment

The SA National Endurance Championship sponsored by Race! will have a FanZone with a music stage from 9am until 9pm on Saturday. A flea market, children zone, go-kart rentals, food halls and beer garden form part of entertainment activities, while music will be served by a 16-artist line-up including Zakes Bantwini, Prime Circle and Oscar Mbo, among others.

Grammy-winning musician Zakes Bantwini forms part of a 16-artist concert to be staged at Kyalami for the racing extravaganza.
Grammy-winning musician Zakes Bantwini forms part of a 16-artist concert to be staged at Kyalami for the racing extravaganza.
Image: Supplied

Race Programme

  • Free Practice sessions — Thursday, 8am, 11.10am and 2.20pm
  • Qualifying (Three Hours) — Thursday, 5.20pm
  • Warm-up session — Friday, 7am
  • Race Start (Three Hours) — Friday, 8am
  • Free Practice (Nine Hours) — Friday, 1.20pm, 3.10pm
  • Qualifying (Nine Hours) — Friday, 5.10pm
  • Night Practice (Nine Hours) — Friday, 7pm
  • Music Concert — Saturday, 9am until 9pm
  • Race Start (Nine Hours) — Saturday, 1pm  

 


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