Pepper Drafted into Inception McLaren Lineup for Kyalami 9H

Photo: Inception Racing

Newly crowned Fanatec GT World Challenge America powdered by AWS champion Jordan Pepper will sub for Ollie Millroy in Inception Racing’s McLaren 720S GT3 in next weekend’s Joburg Kyalami 9 Hour.

The South African will race on home soil, sharing the team’s Pro-Am class entry with Americans Brendon Iribe and Kevin Madsen.

Pepper, who raced in the two previous editions of the race for Bentley, was part of the Optimum Motorsport-run team’s lineup at the Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli season-opening Total 24 Hours of Spa.

“It was a last-minute call up, but I’m really excited for the opportunity,” he said. “However, the chance does come with Ollie not being able to join us due to family commitments.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to help out the team as much as I can. I’m really looking forward to the race itself. Knowing the car and knowing the track really well I think will give us a really good chance to be even more competitive.

“It’ll be great to be reunited with Brendan and Kevin after previously driving with them at Spa. I’m sure we’ll be in for a great result too. The goal is to help Brendan and Kevin win the Pro-Am championship, I know that we’re a strong team, so we’ll do really well and get them that championship win.

“It’s also super excited to be back on home soil at my home race and third time lucky for me to get a good result, I’m sure we’re going to have a great weekend.”

It marks the second consecutive race Millroy has stepped out of the car for family reasons. The Englishman missed Motul Petit Le Mans as his wife was expecting the birth of their child.

Inception heads into Kyalami looking to wrap up the IGTC Pro Am championship, with an 18-point lead over SunEnergy1 Racing’s Kenny Habul, Mikael Grenier and Martin Konrad.

EBM Giga Racing’s Porsche, which has also participated in the class this year, however, will not be making the trip to South Africa due to logistical concerns.

“It’s been an exciting year for us within the team, and with this being our final race of the year, we’re looking forward to ending on a high and potentially claiming another championship title,” said team principal Shaun Goff.

“This is the first time we’ve raced in South Africa, albeit Jordan Pepper has raced here before, so it could definitely throw some challenges into the mix.

“We’re looking to hit the ground running with a full day of testing on the Thursday before the main event on Saturday.

“It’s great to get back out and get racing so what better way to round off a sensational year with a win.”

The entry list for the Dec. 4 race is expected to be released on Friday.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John