Result: Pre-Qualifying
SPS Automotive Performance led a top-18 covered by just one second in Pre-Qualifying this morning ahead of today’s all-important qualifying session and Pole Shootout.
Yesterday’s rain clouds were replaced by bright sunshine and blue skies for the final ‘practice session’ of the Kyalami 9 Hour weekend, and it was Yelmer Buurman who made the most of the favourable conditions en route to 1m42.427s.
That was four hundredths shy of Nick Tandy’s testing benchmark from yesterday but still sufficient to beat the Bentley of local favourite Jordan Pepper by 0.121s.
Pepper initially moved to the top after 40 minutes by beating Matt Campbell’s Dinamic Porsche, which finished just 0.019s behind M-Sport’s Bentley.
Three local bodyshop staff ensured GruppeM Racing’s Mercedes-AMG was repaired in time for Pre-Qualifying after yesterday’s accident. And Raffeale Marciello rewarded their hard work by finishing fourth fastest and just 0.151s down on Buurman’s time.
KCMG’s Intercontinental GT Challenge debutant Joao Paulo de Oliveira ensured four different manufacturers featured in the top-five. His Nissan, which led for a time, finished half-a-tenth ahead of KUS Team 75 Bernhard’s Porsche
Elsewhere, Honda Team Motul finished eighth, the first of the BMWs was 11th and Audi finished 13th.
Watch qualifying and Pole Shootout live on Intercontinental’s website from 14:45 and 16:25 this afternoon.