BMW comes out on top at Kyalami 9-Hour race in Johannesburg
At the end of the nine-hour endurance race, the BMW team took first and second place.
The sounds of engines revving at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit could be heard for kilometres.
The circuit hosted the Kyalami 9-hour which was round two of this year’s Intercontinental GT Challenge, on February 23 to 25.
Local driver Sheldon van der Linde, alongside teammates Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts placed first in the race overall in the WRT team’s BMW M4 GT3.
The team finished 1.7 seconds ahead of the WRT team’s second BMW M4 car, which was driven by Philipp Eng, Augusto Farfus, and Maxime Martin.
In third place, was the Tresor Attempto Audi R8 LMS team of Mattia Drudi, Ricardo Feller, and Patric Niederhauser.
Media personality Kriya Gangiah who was covering the race said, “Looking at the field, the performance of the cars and the drivers, I think that South Africans are having a treat here in terms of racing.
“There are teams that won in Bathurst two weeks ago, then they come to South Africa with no engine in their car, rebuild the whole car here in the country, and then went on pole this morning. Then you have the BMWs, the performance of the car and the way it’s been built is suited to the altitude, so the car should perform better here.”
The three days of motorsport action featured more than 180 race cars in six support categories. The main event was contested by more than 20 top international and local GT3 and GT4 racing teams. There had been several activities and attractions for ticket holders to utilise and enjoy, such as drifting and a track walk.
The next race takes place in June, with a 24-hour race at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.
BMW and Mercedes are currently on equal points on the manufacturer standings, with Porsche in third.
Share your thoughts on the Fourways Review Facebook page.
Related articles:
