In the race, the two GT3 sports cars soon found a good rhythm on a dry track. Dries Vanthoor shared the cockpit of the number 25 Audi R8 LMS Nummer from Audi Sport Team WRT with his Audi Sport teammates Kelvin van der Linde and Frédéric Vervisch, and on lap 139 took the lead for the first time. Six laps later, the time sheets showed Markus Winkelhock in the top spot. On lap 193, the race car sporting the green Montaplast zebra livery was leading the race again, this time with Christopher Mies at the wheel. But neither of the two sports cars mastered the distance without any mistakes. The race car of the three Germans had to serve two drive-through penalties due to a refueling mistake and violation of the pit stop duration while car number 25 was also handed a drive-through penalty for its pit stop duration, plus suffering a puncture. In the final stage, heavy rain caused a near-two-hour neutralization. In the end, Haase/Mies/Winkelhock achieved fourth place on the challenging circuit between Johannesburg and Pretoria, while van der Linde/Vanthoor/Vervisch crossed the finish line in eleventh. Frédéric Vervisch thus placed fifth in the drivers’ classification of the racing series. In its maiden season, the evolution version of the Audi R8 LMS in customers’ hands clinched a total of 13 drivers’ titles worldwide, won 16 other championship classifications, plus two 24-hour races.
Additional information
– End –