The rain is tipping down. Full Course Yellow, still. Full Course Yellow speed is slower than Safety Car speed. These could be monsoon conditions as they trundle down The Mineshaft. This does matter as a champiopnship event. The track will be totally saturated. It's 7PM now. You will have to order room service at the end of this one. No delicious sausages and other delights tonight. Only leftovers. We want the drivers top be safe, but, we are stymied if it is going to be wet and be under Full Course Yellow. There's not enough pace and not enough cars on track to clear the water away. The drivers are saying, "we are struggling, even at slow speed." We saw this in the dark at Spa Francorchamps too. It is wet and dangerous out there.
Everyone might just want to call for a red flag. Right now we are under Full Course Yellow. Fred Vervisch leads the motor race. The cars are crawling around Kyalami as we speak. This is exactly the same as the 2019 race that you read about on the blog. We hope for the race to resume, but it is very dangerous. Will the rain stop? It might stay for a good while and we will end the race in the wet, with just 53 minutes on the board. 52 now. Saul Hack is changing over to sticker wet tires at Perfect Circle. This is the last round of pit stops unless you have to make repairs. Everyone is just trundling around out there.
We don't want to see a red flag or a safety car, but realistically, we will just have to see what happens. We have a Full Course Yellow and it will be until we finish the race in 50 minutes. The old Group C prototype sports cars, were and are awesome cars, and fantastically fast, but they leaked like sieves and you'd have water in the cockpit and get your overalls all full of water. Honda are fifth. GPX Porsche could be in the pound seats for the championship. 48 minutes on the board. Maybe we can get one more pit stop done. But there's a pointless situation here, waiting to see what the cars do. Running to the end will be OK except the grid is locked up and you can't move. The puddles are getting worse and the rain is out there.
Deja vu all over again. Wow. This is fodder for armchair Race Directors, armchair quarterbacks. Bertrand Baguette says Honda have lost the race due to the weather. They are losing time with 45 minutes left. It is hard to race in these conditions. Bertrand Baguette does not know what the slow Audi is doing. They seem to be going for a championship which Honda is as well. The gaps could come down. It is still raining. Hard to tell if it is tipping down or if it is lessening. Look at the rivers on the road. Wow. If there was a restart, bring the gaps down using the safety car.
There's inches of water on the road between Leeukop and Mine Shaft. Audi #32, Fred Vervisch, runs through the pit lane, to reset the stint time. #44 assists #32. These are the Car Collection and WRT Audi's and the WRT car is leading. 40 minutes left to go. The fuel tank is not running dry. 266 laps on the board, 758 miles. Honda leads for eight hours and in the final hour, they might just get mugged here. There's no steering control with the deep water at Sunset corner. It's a small ocean you've got. Clubhouse is also wet. Audi #32 leads. Nicky Catsburg has somehow gotten himself into the lead. Where is Freddie Vervisch?
Did Vervisch take his drive through penalty? Hmmm. Puzzling. BMW does lead the motor race. Nicky Catsburg leads Fred Vervisch and third is the #12 GPX Porsche. I've run out of permutations for the race and the championship. Throw caution to the wind, folks. Some drivers still need to make pit stopos with 35 minutes to go. Audi and BMW have both reset their drive times or their positions. It's the positions. Did Fred Vervisch run off track for a brief moment? The Audi points the BMW by. Mirko Bortolotti is not sure what happened.
The Aud had to give a spot back to the BMW. It is hard to see in the rain and the darkness. The Audi, after their reset pit stop, accelerated ahead of the BMW. Audi had to give a spot back to the BMW boys. Audi #44 pits and gives a spot back to Honda #30, who are going to be hanging their heads in shame here because of the rain and the Full Course Yellow even though it was out of their control. You have missed nothing. Nicky Catsburg is splashing his way through.
Augusto Farfus and Nicky Catsburg could win the title if they don't have another stop to make. There's boatloads of standing water. The safety car cannot go out to scoop up the field. It looks as though the rain has stopped but there's so much standing water on the road. BMW #34 for Walkenhorst Motorsports leads the motor race. Porsche have not had the best day today. BMW #34 and Porsche #12 have to drive through the pit lane to reset their driver stint time clock. We may have missed it. It's wet on the radar.
The rain is plumb over the track, but the intensity has lessened. 25 minutes to go. There's a massive puddle these blokes keep running through going into Sunset. The electronics are sealed by silicone, but you've got to be careful. Again, the vintage race cars, leaked like sieves in the rain. Augusto Farfus says that Walkenhorst and his team are set. They gambled and lost the motor race last year, but they might have a good chance in 25 minutes. It is impossible to restart and drive at 80 clicks. Heroics are out of the question.
Porsche #12 also pitted on the hour mark. The safety car has been put on standby. Nicky Catsburg and Augusto Farfus could win the championship. Wow. The whole race has been turned on it's ear in the last 45 minutes or so. Jerome Duval is the safety car driver, and his father is the Deputy Race Director and his father drove in this race last year. 20 minutes to go. The rain is easing up. Hey, maybe we can get back to a semblance of racing here. The safety car will close the cars up. Will we have a restart. 272 laps completed, 775 miles.
Charles Weerts says Audi'ssituation is unclear as they are behind the BMW. Some decisions the Race Director can make himself and others are up to the stewards. Eight hours and 44 minutes, 16 minutes to go. Maybe we should do with this race like Bathurst, starting in darkness, and then into daylight. The rain is tipping down. Nine hours has flown by. Audi has not been able to use one of their cars to assist another. BMW are in the pound seats, and JAS Honda have been snookered.
Patrick Pilet's Porsche is in third spot. Patrick Pilet says "I just want to race." The safety car is not the best idea. Pilet wants to race. Pilet says the best should win on track, but of course, the Full Course Yellow was for too much water. Matt Campbell is in the car. Many hours ago, Campbell set a new lap record as Nicky Catsburg is the leader. BMW will be putting in a new GT car and this will be a good way, should they win, for the M6 to say goodbye. The Porsche 992 GT3R, the BMW M4 GT3, and other cars will be upgraded. The Mercedes AMG GT3 is being revised. GT3 is set for another golden age.
Manufacturers still are going to build these wonderful cars for the road, that will evolve into race cars. Kyalami will be back on the 2021 schedule next year. Let us hope that fans can be back. Many young drivers want to be in GT racing, Charles Weerts for example. There are so many great venues, cars, and drivers in GT3. We won't start 2021 until the 24 Hours of Spa next year. The Bathurst 12 Hours has been cancelled for 2021 due to the pandemic of course. The Balance of Performance has equalized every brand. A single manufacturer dominating, is not the right idea. They phenomenally engineer their cars, but the public wants to see variety and unpredictability.
Two laps to go. The safety car is on track. We have one lap to go, ending under Full Course Yellow. GT3 cars going at it on a track like Kyalami, is awesome, and we got away with it last year, but not this year. The safety car will up the pace but we will have a ceremonial finish. Walkenhorst BMW is going to win this race with Nicky Catsburg, Augusto Farfus, and Sheldon van der Linde. A South African will win his home race! Wow! Break out the champagne! Don't hit the puddles. This is the run into Ingwe, turn 16. One lap to go. The nine hours will be up at the end of this lap. Walkenhorst Motorsports are going to win the Kyalami 9 Hours. Their second win this year.
Nicky Catsburg has won the Spa 24 Hours, the Nurburgring 24 Hours, the Indianapolis 8 Hours, and now, the Kyalami 9 Hours. BMW, Audi, Porsche. Porsche will win the manufacturer's cup. Dylan Pereira, Saul Hack, and Andre Bezuidenhout, win Pro Am. So, this is it. Augusto Farfus and Nicky Catsburg are the winners, and the season champions. The rain will not relent. Weend under yellow. Nicky Catsburg, Augusto Farfus, and Sheldon van der Linde win Kyalami!
#34 Farfus/Catsburg/Van der Linde Walkenhorst Motorsports BMW M6
That's the race, ladies and gentlemen. Intercontinental GT Challenge 2020 is complete. We have another feather in the at for Walkenhorst. Lechner Moitorsports have won Pro Am. Car Collection Motorsports wins the Silver Cup class.
#9 Hack/Bezuidenhout/Pereira Lechner Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R
#45 Marschal/Lechman/Dontje Car Collection Audi R8 LMS
Nicky Catsburg is a new champion! Congratulations! Some post-race thoughts, coming up.
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