Gounon Quickest in Opening Kyalami Test Session

The No. 75 SunEnergy1 by SPS Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo led the way in the opening test session for the Kyalami 9 Hour.

The Pro-Am class competitor, which won overall last time out at the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour with Akkodis-ASP, was quickest thanks to a 1:43.199 lap time set by Jules Gounon.

It was 0.095 seconds quicker than the No. 999 GruppeM Racing Mercedes of Maro Engel, Raffaele Marciello and Mikael Grenier, which recovered after missing the first half of the two-hour session.

The Mann Filter-liveried entry missed Wednesday’s scrutineering as it rebuilt its Pro class Mercedes from its last outing at the Gulf 12 Hours in December according to a Mercedes-AMG spokesperson.

The No. 32 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 of Sheldon van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts completed the top three overall in the session, thanks to a 1:43.360 lap time.

Tressor Attempto Racing’s No. 99 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II and the No. 33 WRT BMW completed the top-five, which was separated by less than a half-second.

All eight international entries occupied the top eight positions, with the No. 3 NGK Pablo Clark Racing Mercedes the quickest of the local teams taking part in the South African enduro.

The session saw a red flag just for the No. 11 BigFoot Express Racing Mercedes, which lost a wheel on track that led to a lengthy delay for the car’s retrieval.

A second paid test session is on tap for a 2:55 p.m. start, followed by Free Practice in the evening.

RESULTS: Paid Test Session 1

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