Kyalami 9 Hour and Cape Town E-Prix come to SA this weekend

Two international motor racing events take place this weekend on opposite ends of SA.

For those who like the old-school roar of petrol-engined super cars, the annual Kyalami 9 Hour race returns to Johannesburg on Saturday for the second round of this year’s Intercontinental GT Challenge, while Cape Town will host the country’s inaugural E-Prix for electrically-powered race cars on the same day.

KYALAMI 9 HOUR

Several international and local GT3 and GT4 race teams will battle it out for overall and class victories in the 9 Hour. The International GT Challenge (IGTC) Series, powered by Pirelli, is a GT3 and GT4 sports car-based endurance series that takes place on five continents.

Reigning manufacturers’ champion Mercedes arrives in SA as the team to beat after winning the season opening Bathurst 12 Hour in Australia on February 5, but the Mercedes-AMG GT3s will face stiff opposition from BMW, Porsche and Audi.

Local interest will focus on Sheldon van der Linde in the Team WRT BMW M4 GT3, a car he will share with Belgian drivers Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts. Van der Linde returns after winning the 2020 Kyalami 9 Hour.

Another local entry is team Stradale Motorsport which has three South Africans sharing a Mercedes-AMG GT3: Clint Weston, Arnold Neveling and Charl Arangies. Kwanda Mokoena, SA's 2022 Endurance Racing Champion, will be taking on the Kyalami 9 Hour with fellow local drivers Marius Jackson and Mo Mia in an Audi R8 GT3.  

The 9 Hour also includes a race within a race — the Kyalami Supercup — for several local entries, which will take the start at 1pm local time on Saturday before peeling off after 60 minutes.

This gruelling endurance race forms the centrepiece of the K9H Motor Fest from February 23 to 25, promising fans 12 hours of track action daily. In addition to the 9 Hour there will be more than 180 cars competing in seven support categories, with each category featuring two races: the GTC and SupaCup Championships; BMW M Performance Parts Race Series; CompCare Volkswagen Polo Cup; InvestChem F1600 Championship; Mobil 1 V8 Championship; and Wild Rose Gin Sports and GT Race.

Festivalgoers can also look forward to checking out a historic car display, the chance to win prizes at the Mercedes-Benz simulators, and watching gymkhana demonstrations by the Toyota Gazoo Racing Team.

A range of tickets, including two- and three- day packages, are available online from Ticketmaster, along with on-site parking passes. General admission tickets on Saturday are priced from R550 for adults and R250 for children aged 6 to 12, with children under 6 free. A limited number of tickets for Pitlane Walk can be purchased for an additional R200 per person.

CAPE TOWN E-PRIX

The ABB FIA Formula E Championship takes to Cape Town city streets in what will be the first E-Prix held in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The fifth instalment of this year’s 16-round series, it promises to deliver a high-speed spectacle as 11 teams and 22 of the world’s best drivers tackle a 2.94km street circuit in Gen 3 electric racing cars campaigned by manufacturers including Jaguar, Porsche, Nissan and Maserati.

The brainchild of Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, Formula E is a single-seater motorsport championship that races electric-powered cars on temporary street circuits in cities all over the world.

Formula E promotes sustainability and innovation within the motor industry, and to raise public awareness about the benefits that battery electric vehicles offer. The series also serves as a platform for manufacturers to develop new technologies that will find their way into future production car models.

Local fans will have South African Kelvin van der Linde to root for. He will be racing the ABT Cupra as a stand-in for regular driver Robin Frijns who sustained a hand injury earlier this season.

Designed to showcase some of the city’s landmarks, including Signal Hill and the Cape Town Stadium, the circuit will see the field fire through the Green Point and Waterfront precincts at speeds of up to 320km/h.

There will be a fan village offering everything from food stalls and live entertainment, to racing simulators and a big-screen broadcasting the on-track action live.

Available on Ticketmaster, tickets start at R350 per person, with grandstand seating ranging from R995 to R3,450 depending on the location.

FALKINER WINS FIRST ROUND OF TOYOTA GR CUP

The second season of the Toyota GR Cup had its debut at Zwartkops Raceway on Saturday February 18. As in 2022 the series is being contested by six of SA’s motoring journalists, but this time they are driving the recently launched GR 86 coupé instead of last year’s Yaris GR hatchback.

The opening weekend saw TimeLIVE writer Thomas Falkiner winning both heats from pole position, followed by ASAMM’s Setshaba Mashigo. Maroela Media’s Brendon Staniforth took third place in heat one, but just lost out on the final podium spot to The Citizen’s Mark Jones in heat two after a close battle.

GR Cup debutants Chad Luckhoff (Auto Trader) and Reuben van Niekerk (Jumping Kids/Wheels24) were respectively 5th and 6th for the day.

The next round of the 2023 GR Cup at Killarney Raceway in Cape Town on March 18.