Torrential rain prevented the Audi drivers from improving their positions during the rain-interrupted qualifying sessions for the Kyalami 9 Hour, the third and final round of the 2021 Intercontinental GT Challenge. Due to the weather causing the cancellation of the qualifying and superpole sessions, the grid positions for the race are set according to the results from the pre-qualifying session.
This sees the best-placed Audi R8 LMS on the grid as the number 25 entry from Audi Sport Team Saintéloc in fifth place – driven by local hero Kelvin van der Linde, together with Patric Niederhauser and Markus Winkelhock. They line-up ahead of Mattia Drudi, Christopher Haase and Charles Weerts in the number 32 Audi R8 LMS from Audi Sport Team WRT. Customer teams Saintéloc Racing and High Class Racing complete the fourth row on the grid, while local team MJR Motorsport will line up tenth and eleventh respectively with its GT3 and GT4 versions of the Audi R8 LMS. The 2021 Intercontinental GT Challenge titles are up for grabs in South Africa on Saturday. Audi leads the manufacturers’ standings by 36 points, while the drivers’ title race sees three Audi drivers trailing the leaders by two points – with the pairing of Niederhauser/Winkelhock or Christopher Haase all in the running to win the title. Audi has so far won five Intercontinental GT Challenge titles since 2016, three times as the triumphed manufacturer and twice as the best in the drivers’ standings.
Source: https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/newsflash/audi-on-the-third-row-at-the-kyalami-9-hour-14492