Spectators must be Covid-free to attend Kyalami 9 Hour race

The Kyalami 9 Hour endurance race will take place on the rescheduled date of February 3-5. Only fully vaccinated spectators will be allowed to attend, or those who provide a negative Covid-19 test.

It is the third successive year Kyalami will host the season-ending race of the Intercontinental GT Challenge Powered by Pirelli, an international sports car series that contested rounds in Europe (Spa 24 Hour) and the USA (Indianapolis 8 Hour) in 2021.

Originally due to have taken place on December 2-4, the race was postponed due to international travel restrictions imposed on Southern Africa following the discovery of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

Tickets purchased for the original December date will be valid on February 4-5.

The Kyalami 9 Hour returned in November 2019 after a 37-year absence and attracted a large crowd. It took place again in 2020 but without spectators due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Apart from the headline 9 Hour race, this year’s three-day event has support races by the SA GT Racing Series, BMW M Performance Parts series, Mobil 1 V8 Supercars and SA Sportscar series.

Practice and qualifying sessions for the main and support races will take place on the Thursday and Friday, with the 9 Hour starting at 1pm on the Saturday.

Tickets range from R250 to R600 and can be purchased online at www.kyalami9hour.com.

The Kyalami 9 Hour dates back to the 1960s, 70s and 80s and was hotly contested by classic Porsche racers such as the 550 Spider, 908, 917 and 956, as well as the Ferrari 250 GTO and 512M. Back then champions such as Jacky Ickx, Jochen Mass and David Piper raced to victory.

Audi is the favourite to clinch this year’s manufacturers’ championship at the Kyalami title decider, with a 36-point lead over Ferrari. Other brands competing include Porsche, Lamborghini and Mercedes-AMG.

This year’s grid also features a local flavour with several SA GT Racing Series regulars joining their international counterparts. Some are entered for the full duration while others are only scheduled to complete the first hour.

One of the latter, Stradale Into Africa, features the first all-black African driver crew yet to  contest the Joburg Kyalami 9 Hour. An important milestone will have been reached, as well as history made, when the Lamborghini shared by Xolile Letlaka, Tschops Sipuka and Phillip Kekana takes the green flag at 1pm on Saturday.

Theirs is one of three local entries scheduled to contest the full duration. Three more — entered by Scuderia Scribante and MJR Motorsport, and featuring just one driver each — will peel off after the first 60 minutes.