While the 2022 season already started, the Mobil 1 V8 Supercars brigade will tie up the 2021 championship this coming weekend (February 3-5) at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit as part of the Kyalami 9 Hour event.
Due to the continuous impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the motorsport industry throughout 2021, the Mobil 1 V8 Supercars season saw no less than three calendar changes. The last of these came when the Kyalami 9 Hour event, originally scheduled to take place in December, was postponed due to travel restrictions.
Multiple champion Mackie Adlem (#1 Adlem Auto Jaguar XKR) heads the points table and will be out to claim his fifth consecutive title, but he is not going to have things all his own way. Although the Randfontein businessman has only won two heats this year, a string of podium finishes has given him a 19-point advantage in the championship battle.
His closest rival is Franco Di Matteo (#3 Laude Jaguar XKR), who has also claimed two heat wins in the 2021 season, most recently at the last round at Zwartkops Raceway back in October. Thomas Reib (#9 Mobil 1 / Café 9 Automotive Chevrolet Lumina) got his season off to a great start, leading the championship standings after the opening round in Cape Town but a disappointing outing at the second round allowed his rivals back into the game. Even so, he is just nine points behind Di Matteo and could still claim the 2021 crown if things go his way at Kyalami.
While the championship will go to one of these three drivers, they are by no means the only competitors in with a chance of taking the race wins this weekend. Terry Wilford (#21 Fuchs Lubricants Ford Falcon) kicked the season off with a victory at the opening race in Cape Town before suffering several mechanical maladies which derailed his championship quest. He did, however, get things back on track at the last event where he claimed enough points to end up in a tight battle for fourth place in the championship with Warren Lombard (#6 PepBoys Automotive Ford Falcon). While Lombard has yet to stand on the top step of the podium, his first win cannot be far away after a string of top-five finishes in the season. Only one point separates this pair heading into the finale.
Never one to turn down an opportunity to get behind the wheel of a race car, Jeffrey will be out in the #53 ELKSA Competition Ford Falcon normally driven by David Coetzee. Kruger is widely acknowledged as one of the most versatile drivers in South Africa, and it will be no surprise to see him up with the leaders. Julian Familiaris (#20 Lube-Net Chevrolet Corvette) is another driver who could mount a serious challenge at the front of the field. Work commitments and mechanical setbacks have prevented him from mounting a serious championship challenge, but a win and a second-place finish at Phakisa Freeway earlier in the season showed that he is a force to be reckoned with.
Richard Fuller (#12 Reventon Auto Ford Mustang), Antonie Marx (#10 Reman Africa Chevrolet Corvette) and Carl Nel (#15 Gears For Africa Chevrolet Corvette) would also like to end their 2021 campaigns on a strong note. While all three of them form part of the younger generation of drivers in the championship, they have already stepped onto the podium at least once. Marx is the only one to have competed at Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit before in the series.
Andre de Lange (#33 Roofsure / Creative Ink Media Jaguar XKR) missed the opening round of the 2022 season, but will be eager to build on his good form in the series. Johnny Eekhout (#24 Johnspeed Cobra Chevrolet Corvette) and Steve Herbst (#7 PPG Coatings / Prei Instrumentation / QI Systems) will be eager to join the midfield battle. Sam Dahl (#98 Arcprotech Ford Falcon) will be competing at Kyalami for the first time while Larry Wilford (#77 Fuchs Lubricants Chevrolet Corvette) will be making his first appearance since the 2021 Passion For Speed event. Ben Morgenrood (#222 Ben Morgenrood Ford & Mazda Mustang) will also be returning to the grid, having missed the 2022 season opener. Gerhard Botha (#777 Chevrolet Corvette) joins the series for the season finale.
African Group Lubricants Marketing Manager, Nicole Jooste, is eager ahead of the title decider: “It has been great to see this season unfold and I believe we all are anticipating an exciting finale. For the series and Mobil 1, there is also no better venue than Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit to decide this title. This is the circuit where we announced our partnership during the 2018 Festival of Motoring. The pandemic has resulted in us only having been back at the circuit once, but few things compare to the sound of a star-studded Mobil 1 V8 Supercars field roaring down the main straight. The title decider will be loud, exciting, spectacular and one of the highlights of the weekend.”
Thursday will see a host of practice sessions before Qualifying on Friday morning. The first race is scheduled to take place at 16:45 on Friday with Race 2 at 10:10 on Saturday morning. Both races will be contested over eight laps
Produced and distributed by Brandsponential by African Group Lubricants
