It was 1982, and it was the Group C prototype era. That was the last time sports cars on a professional level, were seen in a 9 hour enduro here at Kyalami. For the first time, in 37 years, one of the classic endurance races in sports car lore, returns. It's the Kyalami 9 Hours! Boogity, boogity, boogity! Let's go GT racing!
The race is on at Kyalami, and we've had drama already. Kevin Estre and Dennis Olsen are battling for the lead. We've already lost Maximilian Buhk in the #999 Mercedes! Maxi Buhk had a mechanical issue. BMW and Bentley are also up there. Dennis Olsen is indeed the leader. GruppeM has lost three laps. Olsen can win the title here. But we have just begun this motor race. We've run four laps. Dennis Olsen sets fast lap at 1:44.628 while Dane Cameron in the Nonda NSX is flying in sxith place, sharing with Marco Bonanomi and Bertrand Baguette. Chris Goodwin spun into the gravel and he has aright front tire and goes off the road. There's loads of bodywork damage on the car. The front splitter is an issue on the Aston, and the bonnet is off. Now, we have Marcus Winkelhock barely staying ahead of Maxi Goetz. The Nissan's are up there, too. Alexander Imperatori vs. Joao Paulo de Oliviera.
The Land Audi and the SPS Mercedesare battling as we come back towards Crowthorne. Marcus Winkelhockj is making his car very wide. Kevin Estre runs a 1:44.545, the quickest lap so far. The Porsche battle continues. Kevin Estre is inching away from Laurens Vanthoor as they go through Leeukop corner. The Audi is slower than it's pursuers at the moment. We've got debris on the road, look. It's from someplace in the midfield as the cars return through Barebecue Bend. Plunging downhill through The Mine Shaft they go. This race might be settling into a rhythm. The #12 Dinamic Racing Porsche 911 GT3R is up there as well as we've run seven laps.
Mikkel Jensen in the #34 Walkenhorst BMW M6 GT3 is flying as well. Farewell, #999 Mercedes. It's just impossible for that car to get back into the race. They were a championship contender. Martin Tomczyk is the cork in the bottle against Jordan Pepper. It's BMW vs. Bentley. Cars are all over, through the Mine Shaft into the Crocodile. Stephen Kane has Gary Paffett all over him. Dirk Werner is also flying, headed back to Crowthorne. Lapped cars are in the way, look. Maxi Buhk is out. Game over, chaps. Game over! Can you believe it! Buhk could have been the champion! Wow. The car let him down.
Lars Kern in the Lechner Racing Porsche is cooking right now. What a bad blow for GruppeM Mercedes. Olsen and Estre are pulling away from Laurens Vanthoor. In replay, we see the #999 Mercedes losing pace. He turns into Crowthorne, and the lights go out. How sad. New fastest lap holder, Laurens Vanthoor in third spot. Pick up the pace as you run ahead of Marcus Winkelhock. Kevin Estre closes up on Dennis Olsen. These blokes are flying right now. Just flying. Back through Leeukop once more. Joao Paulo de Oliviera, the Brazilian, in the Nissan for KCMG, is flying, too. This is the #35 car. Two fastest laps now, for Vanthoor. Incidentally, de Oliviera is sharing with Japan's Katsumasa Chiyo, and Aussie, Joshua Burdon.
The field is spreading out, finding a rhythm. It's warm here in South Africa, but Kyalami is not a high tire degradation track. When we get to the pit stops, we'll have short or long pit stops. 49 seconds or less, or more the a minute and a half. You have to wait if the stop is timed anywhere between those targets depending on if you go for tires or for tires and fuel plus a driver change. Jordan Pepper is chasing Mikkel Jensen, and Dirk Werner wants a piece of the South African hometown hero for Bentley. The Nissan's and Honda's are good through the first sector as they slide through Crocodile. Everyone has been told to respect track limits through the final corner at Cheetah.
Sunset, is one of the great corners on this track and they have gone through it once more. Joao Paulo De Oliviera is seventh, behind Dane Cameron. Alexandre Imperatori follows in the sister Nissan. de Oliviera is driving on a Pirelli tire for the first time in his career. There is no unrestricted testing in IGTC racing. 14 laps done and dusted. Poor old Chris Goodwin is still in the garage, and Alexander West and Come Ledogar, are all there, but they need to replace the gearbox, and Martin Tomczyk loses out to Dirk Wwerner while Steven Kane is slowing, and Gary Paffett passes right by into Sunset. There was argy bargy between the Bentley and the BMW. Through Clubhouse, there's loads of junk on the road.
Was the Bentley, tweaked at all? Werner goes inside, and Kane slaps the BMW. That was not too good, mate. Here, look, we see Fred Vervisch in 15th. Vervisch is one of our championship contenders. We will have to look at the weather. It could start raining at any point. Gary Paffett and Maximilian Goetz have both been warned about track limits. Stephen Kane is being balked by Fred Vervisch. But, Vervisch has the right to frustrate and monster Kane. Back through the Clubhouse again. Half an hour done and dusted. Tomczyk, Paffett, Vervisch, Kane, followed by Lars Kern. The Bentley's have not been as quick as other cars here. They've done really well in North America.
This is Bentley's 100th anniversary, but they have not won an enduro race in IGTC though they did win the 1,000 kilometer race at Paul Ricard in the south of France, back in June. Martin Tomczyk is still defending from the Mercedes, down into the Mine Shaft. Kevin Estre has gone to the lead through Crowthornes. He has gone by Dennis Olsen. Can Kevin Estre move away from Dennis Olsen? Laurens Vanthoor, meanwhile, has fastest lap. Marcus Winkelhock is staying with everyone right now. Could Olsen be having a braking issue right now? Estre has the lead of this motor race as mentioned.
He will build up a gap, surely. Jordan Pepper passes Maxime Martin in the #76 R-Motorsport Aston Martin as a lap is put on the Perfect Circle Porsche, the South African trio for a legendary team that raced here in the Kyalami 9 Hours with a Porsche 917 back in 1969, 50 years ago. They hope to get to the end of the race. That's their goal. Laurens Vanthoor is in the #12 Dinamic Motorsport Porsche sharing with Earl Bamber and Matt Campbell. Matty Campbell is another bloke who could win the championship. Dennis Olsen is the other driver who can win. Kevin Estre has been warned about track limits and so has Dries Vanthoor. Most of the blokes are going to be caught out at Cheetah, the last turn on the new course format here at Kyalami.
Martin Tomczyk is being hounded by Gary Paffett. Fred Vervisch is struggling to keep up with the other Audi's. Especially, the Land Motorsports car. The Balance of Performance may be out of kilter as far as the Audi's are concerned compared to what it would be at sea level, sans the elevation. Points as they run sees Olsen ahead of Campbell ahead of Goetz and then, Maxi Buhk is the one living a nightmare right now, as they run back through Crocodile, Cheetah, and Ingwe, which is Zulu for leopard. We've got 25 or so minutes before the pit stops happen. Stay tuned. One of the locally based Ferrari's moves over.
The national class South African cars, are going to be slower, even though they are GT3 cars. GT racing is so popular and exciting due to a successful Balance of Performance and the cars have anywhere from 550 to 600 horsepower. Kevin Estre uncorks the fastest lap of the motor race, not sure of the time. Adam Hardy, one of the FIA WEC Porsche engineers, is the GPX race engineer today. 1.7 seconds covers the top three cars right now, 23 laps run. We have not had an incident just yet. Three Porsche's in the top three. Go back to 1969, that Perfect Circle Porsche 917, was run by David Piper and Richard Attwood.
Dane Cameron continues to run very well in the JAS Motorsport Honda NSX GT3. It's been a regular car in IGTC this year. Dane Cameron is monstering Marcus Winkelhock at the moment. The race leading gap is precisely one second, Estre leading Olsen. Maximilian Goetz is another championship contender in the #10 SPS Mercedes sharing with Yelmer Buurman and Luca Stolz. The car is painted in the South African flag. Gotz is a GT3 champion in FIA and in Blancpain. He tried DTM, but that didn't work as well for him. Oliveira, the Brazilian, he is doing very well for his first time at the circuit. Mikkel Jensen has had some damage. No right rear fender. That's odd. But, it might not be a concern aerodynamically.
Gotz in the pit lane from 12th overall after a 26 lap stint. Tires, fuel, and porobably a driver change. This is an arly stop. But, there's space in the pit lane, too. SPS maybe played their joker card. No one has followed them to the lane, yet. Joao Paulo de Oliviera is matching his competition. The #17 Pablo Clark Racing Ferrari 458 Italia, in the South African national series, is in the lane. This is Pablo Clark Racing, with three South African drivers, Kishoor Pitamber, Leonard Charles Thompson, and Michael Stephen. 1:43.606, new fast lap for Joao Paulo de Oliviera. Strakka Racing in the lane, and it's Gary Paffett in the #44. He stays in the car, sharing with fellow Brit Lewis Williamson and Tristan Vautier of France.
Kevin Estre is being pressurized by Dennis Olsen. Olsen is still pushing, pushing, pushing. Laurens Vanthoor is back there as well. Vanthoor is staying on the battle, but impassively playing with the leaders like a lion playing with it's prey, a gazelle or something. Or even, a cheetah, chasing it's prey at top speed. We've run 30 laps and are nearly at the end of the first hour. Debris and dust out of Cheetah corner. The pace at the front is sizzling right now, ladies and gentlemen. Estre is holding onto the lead of this motor race, barely. Again, d'Oliviera is cooking right now and so is one of the Audi's. d'Oliviera is chasing the Stradale Racing Lamborghini.
Vervisch gets chopped by Martin Tomczyk. Vervisch tries, but decides to hold back. No. Here comes Vervisch again into Mine Shaft, and no dice for Vervisch. He's working at it, but can't get there. He's giving Martin Tomczyk a tough run for his money! We will check the driver lineup for Stradale Racing if things calm down here, as they scream into Crowthorne. Stephen Kane is right there along with Lars Kern and Patrick Assenheimer. The top three Porsche's are covered by just 1.3 seconds. Jeepers! Vanthoor is closer to Olsen than Olsen is to Estre. Maximilian Gotz is down the order. Now, pit stop time for Tomczyk and for Assenheimer. Will there be double stinting for tires?
BMW is going for a driver change and refueling. Augusto Farfus is now in the #42 BMW. Patick Assenheimer does a short stop. Tires though, for BMW. 33 laps done and dusted. Porsche still runs 1-2-3. Manthey is the nominal works team for Porsche. They are here to ensure Porsche will win the manufacturer's cup. Olaf Manthey's team is famous for running at the Nurburgring. The #36 BMW is in the lane, with South African Gennaro Bonafede, countryman Michael van Rooyen, and German team owner, Henry Walkenhorst. Marcus Winkelhock is five and a half seconds behind the lead battle.
Maxi Gotz goes quicker, 1:43.297.
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