Mario Farnbacher gave Honda Racing a second IGTC pole position, (after the Laguiba Seca pole in 2019, topping the top 6 shoot-out for tomorrow’s Kyalami 9 Hour.
Farnbacher, who also played a full part as the Honda trio completed by Renger van der Zande and Bertrand Baguette topped the earlier qualifying session to determine the top 6, posted a 1:41.581 in the JAS Motorsport-run #30 Honda NSX GT3 Evo.
Farnbacher’s best was enough to fend off a spirited effort from local hero Jordan Pepper who ended the session under two-tenths back in the #7 M-Sport Bentley Continental GT3.
The front row pair led a first five from different marques with Pepper’s fellow South African Sheldon van der Linde qualifying third for in the #34 Walkenhorst BMW M6 GT3.
He starts alongside the first of the Audis, the #44 Audi Sport Team Car Collection in the hands of Christopher Haase.
GPX Racing’s #12 Porsche in the hands of Matt Campbell was fifth fastest, the Aussie pushing David Pittard in the second (#35) Walkenhorst BMW to sixth.
The remaining positions on the grid were decided in the three aggregated quick-fire qualifying sessions.
The two WRT Audis will start tomorrow’s race from row 4, #32 leading #31 ahead of the #8 MSport Bentley and an out of sorts #54 Dinamic Motorsport Porsche, Earl Bamber saying post session that the car had a clear technical issue “we have no speed”, worrying stuff for the squad that points leader Bamber shares with fellow Championship frontrunner Laurens Vanthoor and fellow Porsche factory driver Kevin Estre.
The grid is rounded out by the Lechner Racing/ Team Perfect Circle Porsche and the second (Silver Cup) Car Collection Audi.
The Kyalami 9 Hour starts at 11:00 local time with he race streamed worldwide free-to-view on SRO’s GTWorld YouTube channel.
Pics copyright and courtesy Dirk Bogaerts/ SRO
