Mattia Drudi has been drafted into Audi Sport Team WRT’s driver lineup for the Joburg Kyalami 9 Hour following the withdrawal of Dries Vanthoor due to illness.
Audi Sport confirmed that Vanthoor has been ruled out of the Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli season finale on doctor’s advice after feeling unwell.
Timing and scoring data showed Vanthoor as being present for two paid test sessions on Thursday, but Audi confirmed that the Belgian driver did not visit the track.
Drudi flew to South Africa overnight on Thursday evening to join the WRT squad ahead of Pre-Qualifying practice on Friday morning.
The Italian will share the No. 32 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo with Charles Weerts and IGTC drivers’ championship contender Christopher Haase.
Drudi raced in the 2020 edition of the Kyalami 9 Hour and finished fifth overall sharing Car Collection Motorsport Audi with Haase and Patric Niederhauser.
Vanthoor was not in contention for the IGTC crown courtesy of Audi placing Haase, who is higher up in the standings, into the No. 32 WRT lineup for the title decider.