Kyalami 9 Hours

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

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.

History

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

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

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

Multiple winners

By driver

Wins Driver Years
6 David Piper 1962–1966, 1969
4 Jacky Ickx 1967, 1968, 1970, 1982
Jochen Mass 1975, 1981, 1982, 1987
3 Richard Attwood 1965, 1966, 1969
2 Dawie Gous 1960, 1961
John Love 1960, 1961
Tony Maggs 1963, 1964
Brian Redman 1967, 1971
Clay Regazzoni 1971, 1972
Reinhold Joest 1973, 1981
Jody Scheckter 1976, 1977
Gary Formato 1998, 2000
Sheldon van der Linde 2020, 2023

By manufacturer

Wins Manufacturer Years
12 Porsche 1958, 1960, 1961, 1969, 1973, 1981–1983, 1986–1988, 2019
8 Ferrari 1962–1966, 1970–1972
4 BMW 1976, 1979, 2020, 2023
2 Mirage 1967, 1968
Ford 1975, 1977
Lola 1999, 2000