The final countdown has started as teams and organisers move into final preparations for Saturday 12 December’s South African 9-hour at Cape Town’s Killarney raceway.
Excitement is building on all fronts with everything form the championship chasing Harp Juno sports racer being dyno tuned at a circuit workshop to Sarel van der Merwe’s Ginetta G55 he will share with former Le Mans winner and F1 star Jan Lammers being unpacked from it’s shipping container to some of the little sprint race Golf 1 GTIs being re-fettled for their endurance duties this weekend.
Those cars will all contribute to a splendid 32-car entry set to blast off for 9-hours non-stop racing midday on Saturday, pedalled by teams of two or three drivers. Endurance races often favour the tortoises, but rest assured that there are several hares out there betting on pace being the answer to the win.
Race organisers have meanwhile confirmed a 6-race 2016 South African Endurance Series with dates and venues to be confirmed on the morning of the 9-hour, which promises a truly entertaining day’s racing to open your Summer holiday. There will be a pair of single-seater races in the morning, while an 9-hour motorcycle endurance race on the adjacent kart track will unfold simultaneously with the cars racing on the main circuit to offer fans a quite unique endurance racing double whammy.
The 9-hour weekend starts with Friday morning scruitineering and practice leading up to a mandatory night session, with Saturday’s track action headlined by the midday start of the big race, which finishes at 9 o’clock, after sunset at 19:30 that evening. Find Killarney on Potsdam Road just beyond the refineries in Milnetron – circuit entry is R60 per adult, R20 for scholars under sixteen and under-12s are free.
Killarney’s WPMC Clubhouse will have live music, stalls and a tuck shop running while the air-conditioned restaurant will serve great food as usual. There will also be a beer garden, kiddies entertainment and DSTV, while fans can follow race progress vial live timing and CCTV cameras.