The Intercontinental GT Challenge Powered by Pirelli title will be awarded this weekend at the 9 Hours of Kyalami in South Africa. AF Corse Francorchamps Motors will field two Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020s in the third and final round of the 2021 endurance championship.
While the constructors’ title seems out of reach for Ferrari (with the Maranello-based company 36 points off the top), the fight for the drivers’ world championship is certainly very open, with the crew of Alessandro Pier Guidi, Nicklas Nielsen and Côme Ledogar leading the standings. They hold a narrow advantage of just two points, 37 to 35, over the trio of Winkelhock, Niederhauser and Haase. However, while Niederhauser and Winkelhock will join Van der Linde on the track in the number 25 car, Haase has opted to race with Vanthoor and Weerts, who lie third on 28 points.
The race originally scheduled for 4 December was postponed for two months due to the spread of the Covid-19 Omicron variant in the country. Even though some crews have decided not to participate, the final championship leg will see plenty of excitement. There is still everything to play for, with any result possible, including one that would further enrich Ferrari’s trophy cabinet and, in particular, that of Pier Guidi, at the end of an unforgettable season.
The second AF Corse Francorchamps Motors Ferrari, the number 71, will also be trying to score points for the Constructors’ trophy, again in the GT3 Pro class, which also sees a driver swap. Nicklas Nielsen joins Alessio Rovera and Antonio Fuoco, while Miguel Molina will be in the number 51 with Pier Guidi and Ledogar.
The title battle will take place on a circuit where Ferrari has won many times, sharing the record of eight victories with Porsche.
Programme. The action begins on Thursday, 3 February, with free practice, while on Thursday there will be pre-qualifying at 10:35 a.m. and qualifying from 3:30 p.m. On Saturday, the green flag will be displayed for the race, which will start at 1 p.m. and finish nine hours later (all times quoted are local).