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Mercedes dominates Kyalami 9 Hour from start to finish

The No.89 AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Jules Gounon, Raffaele Marciello and Timur Boguslavskiy won the Kyalami 9 Hour. The team completed 307 laps.
The No.89 AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Jules Gounon, Raffaele Marciello and Timur Boguslavskiy won the Kyalami 9 Hour. The team completed 307 laps.
Image: Intercontinental GT Challenge

The No.89 AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Jules Gounon, Raffaele Marciello and Timur Boguslavskiy dominated Saturday's Kyalami 9 Hour endurance race. After starting from pole position the French team put in a fine performance in dry conditions – a relief after Friday's qualifying sessions were washed out by rain – to win the final round of the 2021 Intercontinental GT Challenge that was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Meanwhile second place went to the scarlet No.51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 driven by Miguel Molina, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Come Ledogar. This saw teammates Pier Guidi and Ledogar share the 2021 Intercontinental GT Challenge drivers' championship. After starting the race in a strong second position the sister No.71 AF Corse piloted by Nicklas Nielsen, Alessio Rovera and Antonio Fuoco retired on lap 119 due to transmission failure. 

The No.25 Audi Sport Team Sainteloc R8 LMS GT3 of Patric Niederhauser, Markus Winkelhock and local boy Kelvin van der Linde finished third after starting from fifth. Fourth place was snatched by the No.32 Audi Sport Team WRT R8 LMS GT3 shared by Charles Weerts, Mattia Drudi, Christopher Haase – a result that allowed Audi Sport to walk away with 2021 Intercontinental GT Challenge manufacturers' championship.

Further down the grid it was the No.86 Stradale Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan Evo of Charl Arangies, Arnold Neveling and Michael Van Rooyen that claimed overall honours in the SA National GT3 Class. They were followed home by the No.23 Stradale Into Africa Lamborghini Huracan Evo shared by Xolile Letlaka, Tschops Sipuka and Phillip Kekana.