Audi Confirms Entries, Drivers for Kyalami 9H

Audi will provide extended factory support to three cars in next month’s Kyalami 9 Hour which rounds out the 2020 Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli season.

The German manufacturer revealed the teams, driver lineups and vibrant special liveries for its three Audi Sport-backed Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evos on Wednesday morning.

Team WRT will field two of the factory-supported entries, alongside one from Car Collection Motorsport.

The three-car entry marks an increase in Audi Sport’s involvement at Kyalami, where it supported single entries from WRT and Land-Motorsport last year.

Markus Winkelhock, who is the highest-placed Audi driver in the IGTC championship standings, will share one of the WRT cars with Kelvin van der Linde and Dries Vanthoor.

The second WRT machine will feature Mirko Bortolotti, Frederic Vervisch and Charles Weerts, who is set for his debut in an Audi Sport-backed car.

19-year-old Weerts won this year’s GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup title alongside Vanthoor in a WRT-prepared R8 LMS GT3 Evo.

Mattia Drudi, Christopher Haase and Patric Niederhauser will drive for Audi Sport Team Car Collection.

Drudi, Niederhauser and Vervisch finished second with Audi Sport Team Attempto in the Total 24 Hours of Spa, which was the most recent IGTC race held.

Peter Schmidt’s Car Collection squad is also set to field an independent entry, bringing the total number of Audis on the Kyalami grid up to four.

“The varied circuit in South Africa has prepared an exciting race for us and also marks the finale of a demanding season in the IGTC in 2020,” said Chris Reinke, Head of Audi Sport customer racing.

“We are [in] third position in the manufacturers’ classification and are doing our utmost to improve our position.”

An Audi driven by Winkelhock, Mies and Haase finished fourth in the IGTC’s first staging of the historic Kyalami 9 Hour event which served as the final round of last year’s series.

The race was won by a Frikadelli Racing Team Porsche 911 GT3 R driven by Nick Tandy, Mathieu Jaminet and reigning drivers’ champion Dennis Olsen.