Kyalami 9 Hours

Summary

The Nine Hours of Kyalami is an endurance sports car race contested at Kyalami, Midrand, South Africa. The first races were held from 1958 to 1960 at a circuit at the Grand Central Airport near Midrand before moving to Kyalami in 1961. The event was a mainstay until the late 1980s; however, it was only held three times between 1989 and 2018. The 1974 event was a round of the World Championship of Makes and the 1983 and 1984 races were rounds of the World Endurance Championship. The event was revived in 2019 as part of the 2019 Intercontinental GT Challenge.

Kyalami 9 Hours
Intercontinental GT Challenge
VenueKyalami
First race1958
First IGTC race2019
Duration9 Hours
Previous namesSouth African Nine Hour Endurance Race
Kyalami 6 Hours
1000km Kyalami
Southern Sun 500

History edit

From 1965 to 1973, the race was the centerpiece of the South African Springbok Trophy Series. In 1974, the event was part of the World Championship of Makes, switching to a 6 hour/1000 kilometre format. From 1975 until 1979, the race was held for touring cars. The race returned to sports cars and its 9-hour duration in 1981 and 1982, before being shortened to 1000 km and becoming part of the World Endurance Championship in 1983 and 1984. After not being held in 1985 due to circuit construction, a 500 km event was contested from 1986 to 1988. After a ten-year hiatus, it was revived as a 2-hour, 30 minute, race as part of the SportsRacing World Cup from 1998 to 2000.

On 27 July 2018, circuit officials announced the nine-hour distance event would return to the calendar starting in 2019 as part of a revamped Intercontinental GT Challenge series from the Stéphane Ratel Organisation. The event will be the final event of a global series of GT3-focused events alongside the Bathurst 12 Hour, California 8 Hours, Spa 24 Hours and Suzuka 10 Hours. The race was originally scheduled for 3 November, but moved to 23 November to avoid a date clash with the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Grand Central edit

Year Drivers Entrant Car Distance/Duration Race Title
Non-Championship
15 November 1958   Ian Frazer-Jones
  Tony Fergusson
Porsche 356 9 hours
902.468 km (560.768 mi)
South African Nine Hour Endurance Race
6 October 1959   Chris Fergusson
  Hugh Carrington
  H. M. Carrington Dart – Climax 9 hours
922.959 km (573.500 mi)
South African Nine Hour Endurance Race
29 October 1960   Dawie Gous
  John Love
  A. H. Pillman & Son (Pty.) Ltd. Porsche 550 RS 9 hours
989.816 km (615.043 mi)
Rand Daily Mail South African Nine Hour Endurance Race

Kyalami edit

Year Winning Driver(s) Entrant Car Distance/Duration Race Title
Non-Championship
4 November 1961   Dawie Gous
  John Love
  A. H. Pillman & Son (pty.) Ltd. Porsche 550 Spyder 9 hours
1,082.509 km (672.640 mi)
South African Nine Hour Endurance Race
3 November 1962   David Piper
  Bruce Johnstone
  David Piper Ferrari 250 GTO 9 hours
1,113.022 km (691.600 mi)
Rand Daily Mail Nine Hour Endurance Race
2 November 1963   David Piper
  Tony Maggs
  David Piper Ferrari 250 GTO 9 hours
1,198.000 km (744.403 mi)
Rand Daily Mail Nine Hour Endurance Race
21 October 1964   David Piper
  Tony Maggs
  David Piper Auto Racing Ltd.
  Maranello Concessionaires
Ferrari 250 LM 9 hours
1,222.240 km (759.465 mi)
Rand Daily Mail Nine Hour Endurance Race
South African Springbok Trophy Series
6 November 1965   David Piper
  Richard Attwood
  David Piper Auto Racing Ltd. Ferrari 365 P2 9 hours
1,240.729 km (770.953 mi)
Rand Daily Mail Nine Hour Endurance Race
5 November 1966   David Piper
  Richard Attwood
  David Piper Auto Racing Ltd. Ferrari 365 P2/3 9 hours
1,191.590 km (740.420 mi)
Rand Daily Mail Nine Hour Endurance Race
4 November 1967   Jacky Ickx
  Brian Redman
  J.W. Automotive Mirage M1-Ford 9 hours
1,403.509 km (872.100 mi)
Rand Daily Mail Nine Hour Endurance Race
9 November 1968   Jacky Ickx
  David Hobbs
  J.W. Automotive Mirage M1-Ford 9 hours
1,288.602 km (800.700 mi)
Rand Daily Mail 9 hours
8 November 1969   David Piper
  Richard Attwood
  David Piper Auto Racing Ltd. Porsche 917 9 hours
1,337.848 km (831.300 mi)
Rand Daily Mail 9 hours
7 November 1970   Jacky Ickx
  Ignazio Giunti
  SpA Ferrari SEFAC Ferrari 512 M 9 hours
1,518.400 km (943.490 mi)
Rand Daily Mail 9 hours
6 November 1971   Clay Regazzoni
  Brian Redman
  SpA Ferrari SEFAC Ferrari 312PB 9 hours
1,455.000 km (904.095 mi)
Rand Daily Mail 9 hours
4 November 1972   Clay Regazzoni
  Arturo Merzario
  SpA Ferrari SEFAC Ferrari 312PB 9 hours
1,497.196 km (930.314 mi)
Kyalami 9 Hours
3 November 1973   Reinhold Joest
  Herbert Müller
  Joest Racing Porsche 908/3 9 hours
1,475.490 km (916.827 mi)
Kyalami 9 Hours
World Championship of Makes
9 November 1974   Gérard Larrousse
  Henri Pescarolo
  Equipe Gitanes Matra-Simca MS670C 6 hours
964.440 km (599.275 mi)
Kyalami 6 Hours
Non-Championship
1 November 1975   Hans Heyer
  Peter Hennige
  Jochen Mass
  Ford Köln Ford Escort II RS 1,000 km (620 mi) Wynn's 1000 km Kyalami
6 November 1976   Jody Scheckter
  Gunnar Nilsson
  BMW Motorsport/Faltz-Alpina BMW 3.0 CSL 1,000 km (620 mi)
6 November 1977   Hans Heyer
  Jody Scheckter
  Zakspeed Ford Escort RS Mk II Gr.5 1,000 km (620 mi) Wynn's 1000 km Kyalami
4 November 1978   Brian Cook
  Phil Adams
Datsun 140Z 1,000 km (620 mi) Wynn's 1000 km Kyalami
30 November 1979   Helmut Kelleners
  Eddie Keizan
  Eggenberger Racing BMW M1 1,000 km (620 mi) Wynn's 1000 km Kyalami
1980 Not held
7 November 1981   Jochen Mass
  Reinhold Joest
  Joest Racing Porsche 936 9 hours
365 laps
6 November 1982   Jacky Ickx
  Jochen Mass
  Rothmans Porsche Porsche 956 9 hours
963.939 km (598.964 mi)
World Endurance Championship
10 December 1983   Stefan Bellof
  Derek Bell
  Rothmans Porsche Porsche 956 1,000 km (620 mi) Castrol 1000 km Kyalami
3 November 1984   Riccardo Patrese
  Alessandro Nannini
  Martini Racing Lancia LC2-84 1,000 km (620 mi) Kyalami 1000 km
1985 Not held
Non-Championship
23 November 1986   Piercarlo Ghinzani   Joest Racing Porsche 956B 500 km (310 mi) Southern Sun 500
28 November 1987   Jochen Mass   Richard Lloyd Racing Porsche 962C 500 km (310 mi)
26 November 1988   Bob Wollek   Joest Racing Porsche 962C 500 km (310 mi)
1989–1997 Not held
ISRS / SportsRacing World Cup
6 December 1998   Jérôme Policand
  Gary Formato
  Solution F Riley & Scott Mk III-Ford 2 hours, 30 minutes
383.13 km (238.07 mi)
Vodacom ISRS
28 November 1999   Jean-Marc Gounon
  Éric Bernard
  DAMS Lola B98/10-Judd 1 hour, 30 minutes
196.28 km (121.96 mi)
Vodacom Festival of Motor Racing
26 November 2000   Gary Formato
  Ralf Kelleners
  Kremer Racing Kremer Lola B98/K2000-Ford 2 hours, 30 minutes
375.14 km (233.10 mi)
Vodacom Festival of Motor Racing
2001–2018 Not held
Intercontinental GT Challenge
23 November 2019   Mathieu Jaminet
  Dennis Olsen
  Nick Tandy
  Frikadelli Racing Team Porsche 911 GT3 R 9:00:06
1,171.198 km (727.749 mi)
Kyalami 9 Hour
12 December 2020   Augusto Farfus
  Nicky Catsburg
  Sheldon van der Linde
  Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 9:00:30
1,254.533 km (779.531 mi)
Joburg Kyalami 9 Hour
2021 Not held
6 February 2022   Timur Boguslavskiy
  Jules Gounon
  Raffaele Marciello
  AKKA ASP Team Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo 9:01:17
1,390.403 km (863.956 mi)
Joburg Kyalami 9 Hour
25 February 2023   Sheldon van der Linde
  Dries Vanthoor
  Charles Weerts
  Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 9:00.56
1,383.730 km (859.810 mi)
Joburg Kyalami 9 Hour
South African Endurance Series
16 December 2023   Nick Adcock
  Michael Jensen
  Leyton Fourie
  Jonothan Thomas
  Leyton Fourie Racing Nova Proto 9:01:22
1,195.656 km (742.946 mi)
SAES Nine Hours of Kyalami

External links edit

  • Racing Sports Cars: South Africa archive
  • World Sports Racing Prototypes: Non-championship archive, Springbok archive
  • South African Touring Car Races