South Africa’s biggest and highly anticipated race is back! The annual Southern African Endurance Series proudly presents the Nine Hours of Kyalami brought to you by RACE!, marking a historic milestone as the biggest racing event in Southern Africa for the second time.
The SAES has rapidly grown the SA National Endurance Championship as it gained significant traction across the nation last year and this year saw bigger fields than in the previous two seasons. The series returns to Kyalami on the 29th and 30th of November 2024 for a doubleheader instalment.
The season has been nothing short of spectacular, with four rounds of the Championship already completed and with rounds five and six scheduled for a grand finale at the end of November.
This is all led by the trailblazing Xolile Letlaka, who has made history as the first-ever black motorsport promoter and his business partner from SAES Wayne Riddell, a motorsport stalwart. Letlaka is known for his work in multiple business ventures but more so as an advocate for transformation and inclusivity in motorsport.
He leads a team of drivers that competes both locally and internationally. Letlaka and his team left a mark in motorsport by acquiring Championship status for the South African GT National Championship in 2022.
“I am a black man from Mthatha and I grew up never imagining that I would participate in a sport like this. Motorsport has previously been an exclusive, elitist sport for white people, now we are here changing the face of the sport and inspiring young black kids to pursue this as a career. We want children from disadvantaged communities to see black faces on the track and believe that they too can achieve success regardless of where they come from. This event is about that, we have put in a lot of money to make it work, not to profit off it but to demonstrate to black and POC communities that our dreams are valid”, says Letlaka.
Following remarkable growth in 2022 after acquiring the series the 2023 season saw stability; the 2024 South African National Endurance Championship saw a resurgence in growth. With four rounds of the six-round championships concluded we see a return to the iconic Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit. Since its inception, SAES has achieved a total of three National Championships between the V8 Roadster and SA Endurance series and Index of Performance classes.
The series will see drivers such as Fikile Holomisa, Stuart White, Xolile Letlaka and the youngest driver in the International GT Open series Mikaeel Pitamber.
“This year, the entertainment lineup is even better with award-winning artists across Amapiano, House and Pop music. A big thank you to our many partners and the artists who have come on board to ensure that this year we get bigger and better. We are excited to be filling up Kyalami”, says Riddell.
The SA Endurance National Championship includes multiple performance-related classes, namely the Index of Performance Championship. This unique aspect rewards consistency throughout the season, providing every competitor with an equal chance, regardless of their class.
The series has expanded its reach beyond South African borders, regularly attracting competitors from neighbouring Mozambique and Zimbabwe. This aligns with the series' philosophy of being truly "Southern African," incorporating participants from other African nations.
The long-term vision is to extend these thrilling races to other African countries. This year however we see the series truly make its name as an international race event with participants also entering from Brazil, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, The UK and the USA, with multiple drivers for a number of these countries to date. The series also offers a multitude of support races with the SuperVee SA class for a one make single seater series.
They are joined by the Lotus Challenge series and attended by the visiting Sports and GT series that predominantly run in the Western Cape. This year the series also offers the newly created North vs South Single seater festival that is expecting a grid of 40 single-seater cars. This all gets topped off with the invitational SA GT Super Trophy exotic sports cars.
In addition to the heart-pounding action on the track, the Nine Hours of Kyalami promises nonstop entertainment for the whole family, including a Kids Zone with a marquee filled with jumping castles, face painters and balloon animal-making clowns.
This is enhanced with a Flea Market experience and a go-kart rental track that sees families competing against each other on the Kyalami Dynamic Handling track on the day. Radio Jacaranda FM has joined up with the Nine Hours of Kyalami and will offer a live outside broadcast unit For the younger generation of enthusiasts, SAES will also for the first time be hosting a Virtual vs. Real competition where more than 100 SIM racers will take on their real racing counterparts in a simultaneous Nine Hours of virtual racing on the same track at the same time at the same venue.
Tickets are available at: https://www.saeseries.com/events
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