After completing 277 laps around the magnificent 4.529km Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in Midrand in the allocated nine hours, a mere couple of seconds separated the top two cars.
The Rico Barlow Racing Nova Proto sports car driven by Nick Adcock, Michael Jensen, Johnathan Thomas and Charl Visser finished just ahead of the Into Africa Lamborghini Huracán GT3 of Xolile Letlaka, Stuart White and Mikaeel Pitamber.
Jonathan Thomas, in the Nova, put in a brilliant performance during his late afternoon stint to shatter the Kyalami lap record of 141.425 sec that was set by Michael Stephen in an Audi R8 in 2023, posting an unbelievable time of 140.303 sec.
Unfortunately, for the Rico Barlow team, on-board camera footage showed Charl Visser remove one of his gloves during a safety car period in the dying minutes of the race to wipe the sweat out of his eyes after putting in a huge effort to close down the big lead that the Into Africa Team enjoyed.
An exhausted and dehydrated Visser had to be helped out of the car after one of the most exhilarating drives ever seen in the South African Endurance Series as he un-lapped himself and then chased down the Into Africa Lamborghini that had Stuart White behind the wheel for the last part of the race.
Visser and his team’s victory celebrations soon changed to bitter disappointment as the news of a 21-second penalty for the rule infringement broke, which ultimately dropped them into second place behind the Into Africa Lamborghini.
The jubilant celebrations for the Into Africa Team, who with their second-place finish had clinched their first-ever SA Endurance National Championship, soon escalated into euphoria with the announcement of the Visser penalty that promoted them to first place overall in the Kyalami 9-Hour Race.
The class-E battle among the huge field of Backdraft Roadsters became a race of attrition for many of the teams but the never-say-die camaraderie among the competitors ensured that cars were repaired and continued the race.
Team Pesty Racing, consisting of the father and son pair of Harem and Barend Pretorius, and guest driver Michael Kernick, showed grit and determination to overcome an overnight gearbox change among other niggles, to complete the race six laps ahead of their nearest rival with their gear lever stuck in fifth gear and held in place with a piece of fencing wire.
The race weekend at the iconic Kyalami circuit saw drivers from 16 different countries taking part in the season-ending motoring and lifestyle spectacle that was concluded for the first time in the last 15 years without a drop of rain falling.
The results were:
Class A: 1. Car 125, Stuart White, Xolile Letlaka & Mikaeel Pitamber — Lamborghini Huracán GT3; 2. Car 15, Charl Visser, Nick Adcock, Jonathan Thomas & Michael Jensen — Nova Proto NP02; 3. Car 05, Hein Lategan, Keagan Masters, Verrismo Tavares & Henk Lategan — Porsche 911 GT3.
Class B: 1. Car 95, Damian Hammond, Wayne Roach & Sam Hammond — Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo; 2. Car 511, Riccardo Giannoccaro, Ant Blunden, Gianni Giannoccaro.
Class C: 1. Car 100, Jagger Robertson, Keegan Campos & Nathan Hammond — Volkswagen SupaPolo; 2. Car 81, Karah Hill, Jurie Swart & Anthony Pretorius — Volkswagen SupaPolo; 3. Car 33, Claudio Rossi & Mario Rossi — Alfa Romeo Giulia QV.
Class E: 1. Car 262, Barend Pretorius, Harm Pretorius and Michael Kernick — Backdraft Roadster; 2. Car 18, Robert Mordaunt, Denver Branders, Mark Futcher & John Oliver — Backdraft 18; 3. Car 55, Ludovic Caron & Steve Brooks — Backdraft 55.
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