A disappointing 12 car entry will see out the Intercontinental GT Challenge season finale next weekend at Kyalami as international motorsport struggles out of one of the toughest years in living memory.
Whilst three manufacturers and nine driver crews will battle for title honours there’s no entry for the second-placed Mercedes AMG marque in South Africa.
That leaves just Audi and BMW in a position to deny Porsche the defence of their 2019 drivers and manufacturers Championship double.
Porsche arrives 33 points clear of Audi and a further three ahead of BMW.
Both challengers must therefore win, have a second car finish inside the top-four and hope Porsche falters to have a chance of overturning their respective deficits.
Whilst manufacturers can nominate up to four entries, only their two highest classified finishers are eligible to score Intercontinental points. Audi has filled its quota, three 911s are entered, and BMW can count on two M6s.
It will be a difficult task for Audi and BMW, and not least given the strength of Porsche’s two factory crews who also occupy first and second in the drivers’ standings.
Victory at Spa with Rowe racing has catapulted Bamber and 2016 Intercontinental champion Vanthoor, who share the #54 Dinamic Porsche 911 GT3R with Kevin Estre, into a one-point lead over Matt Campbell, Mathieu Jaminet and Patrick Pilet who share the #36 GPX Porsche.
In the `drivers standings, there are rather more potential combinations
In fact, any one of five different marques represented could still secure drivers’ honours with victory worth 25 points and the nine competing contenders covered by 13, the title battle should go down to the wire next Saturday, just as it did in 2019.
Bentley’s Jules Gounon, Jordan Pepper and Maxime Soulet scored the majority of their points by winning at Bathurst back in February.
Another victory in South Africa, where their Continental GT3 is entered by the same M-Sport squad that masterminded victory Down Under, this time though as a privateer entrant for the first time, would be enough to overhaul Bamber and Vanthoor’s current three-point advantage regardless of the Dinamic duo’s result.
The same winner-takes-all scenario applies to BMW’s Indianapolis 8 Hour victors Augusto Farfus and Nick Catsburg who enter the weekend six points adrift of top spot. The latter and Walkenhorst’s M6 GT3 excelled in Kyalami’s wet and dry conditions last year en route to second overall behind Porsche, a result that will need reversing 13 months on if Farfus and Catsburg are to steal the crown.
The full-season duo are joined by another local star and DTM ace, Sheldon van der Linde, who, like Bentley’s Pepper, grew up just a stone’s throw from Kyalami.
His older brother, Kelvin, is also a victory contender. And winning at Kyalami would put his Audi Sport Team WRT co-driver Markus Winkelhock on course for a second Intercontinental title, albeit subject to results elsewhere.
Achieving as much would deny Vanthoor the same piece of history, for no driver has won two Intercontinental titles. But it would also rely on Laurens’ younger brother, Dries, who shares one of the three South African art-liveried R8 LMS GT3s with Winkelhock and Van der Linde next weekend.
Honda are also in the drivers’ championship mix courtesy of Mario Farnbacher and Renger van der Zande who are joined by Super GT star Bertrand Baguette for the first time this year. Team Honda Racing’s crew will have a 12-point deficit.
The final three championship contenders all find themselves 13 points behind Bamber and Vanthoor.
Walkenhorst’s second BMW again features David Pittard, Martin Tomczyk and Nick Yelloly who finished second at Indy, while Frederic Vervisch is the best placed of his crew mates in WRT’s other Audi. Fellow Spa runners-up Patric Niederhauser and Mattia Drudi represent Car Collection.
Live Coverage
South Africa’s covid-19 restrictions will prevent spectators from attending the Kyalami 9 Hour in person. However, locals and fans around the world can catch every session and all nine hours live and for free without interruption or geo blocking on SRO Motorsports Group’s GT World Youtube channel from next Friday.
Manufacturers Championship Contenders
79pts – Porsche
46pts – Audi
43pts – BMW
Drivers Championship Contenders
31pts – Earl Bamber / Laurens Vanthoor – Porsche
30pts – Matt Campbell / Mathieu Jaminet / Patrick Pilet – Porsche
28pts – Jules Gounon / Jordan Pepper / Maxime Soulet – Bentley
25pts – Nick Catsburg / Augusto Farfus – BMW
22pts – Markus Winkelhock – Audi
19pts – Mario Farnbacher / Renger van der Zande – Honda
18pts – David Pittard / Martin Tomczyk / Nick Yelloly – BMW
18pts – Frederic Vervisch – Audi
18pts – Mattia Drudi / Patric Niederhauser
Kyalami 9 Hour Schedule (Aaa times SAST)
Thursday 10 December
10:00 – 12:00: Paid Test 1
14:20 – 16:20: Paid Test 2
18:05 – 19:35: Night Practice
Friday 11 December
09:45 – 11:30: Pre-Qualifying
14:20 – 14:35: Qualifying 1
14:42 – 14:57: Qualifying 2
15:05 – 15:20: Qualifying 3
16:00 – 16:15: Pole Shootout (top-six cars)
Saturday 12 December
12:00 – 21:00: Kyalami 9 Hour
