> South African joins Team Schnitzer for home race
Sheldon van der Linde joins the Intercontinental GT Challenge Powered by Pirelli field on home soil in November when he contests the Kyalami 9 Hour with BMW.
The DTM ace has been drafted into BMW Team Schnitzer’s line-up alongside full-season co-drivers Augusto Farfus and Martin Tomczyk who have shared their M6 GT3 with Chaz Mostert, John Edwards and Nick Yelloly this year.
South Africa’s historic endurance race returns to the international calendar for the first time since 1982 on November 21-23 when Kyalami hosts Intercontinental’s season finale.
Van der Linde is just one of several homegrown stars now confirmed for the event. His brother and Suzuka 10 Hours winner Kelvin will be part of Audi Sport’s line-up while Jordan Pepper – a Blancpain GT Series winner at Paul Ricard in June – competes with Bentley.
“It goes without saying that it is something incredibly special for me – probably even the highlight of my season,” said Van der Linde. “Some of my family, like my grandparents, have never seen me compete in an international race live. Now they will finally be able to at Kyalami.
“I’m expecting the atmosphere to be awesome since it has been quite a while since a major international race has been held in South Africa so it will be something new for the fans and they will be excited. And there will be other South African drivers starting alongside me, among them my brother Kelvin. I’m really looking forward to the whole event.”
#IntGTC’s eight full-season manufacturers – Audi, Bentley, BMW, Ferrari, Honda, Mercedes-AMG, Nissan and Porsche – are all confirmed for Kyalami where this year’s Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ titles will both be decided. Aston Martin has also confirmed its participation courtesy of two partner teams, while additional local entries are expected to bolster the grid further.
Off-track, fans will also be entertained by some of South Africa’s biggest music acts when the likes of Black Coffee, Prime Circle and Shekhinah perform across the weekend.
Reserve your tickets at www.kyalami9hour.com.