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• Three black drivers secured an impeccable result at the recent Kyalami 9-Hour.
• The three drivers are all seasoned racers with varying degrees of success in motorsport.
• Throughout the race weekend, the trio were the centre of attention.
• For more motoring stories, visit Wheels24
This past weekend, 3-5 February, the Kyalami 9-Hour returned after multiple postponements due to the Covid-19 pandemic. And while it was exciting seeing the world's top endurance racers take to the track, the biggest news was around a South African team.
Racing for the Stradale Racing/Into Africa team, Xolile Letlaka, Tschops Sipuka, and Philip Kekana received massive cheers from the attending crowd before the race and were the focal point of media in attendance.
Why? The three men and their team became the first all-black African team to enter and finish the Kyalami 9-Hour race. And more, the team secured two podium finishes over the race weekend. The first podium came when Letlaka took third place in the SA GT 1-Hour race and second place in the Kyalami 9-Hour National GT3 class, along with teammates Sipuka and Kekana.
The team competed with a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo.
Team comments
Xolile Letlaka: "Racing in the Kyalami 9-Hour was an amazing feeling, made even more special with the crowd so strongly behind us. We got a huge cheer at the end, which was quite emotional for us. This is how motorsport should be. The car ran perfectly for the whole race after the team repaired it after Tschops' accident. This result is a testament to the whole Stradale Team as well as Tschops and Philip."
Tschops Sipuka: "The Lamborghini is an exciting car to drive. The team did their best and worked wonders during the event. Racing at night doesn't happen very often - you really need an extra set of eyes out there as all your brake markers have disappeared into the night. You need high concentration levels as the last thing you want is to throw the race away in the dying minutes."
Philip Kekana: "I had minimal seat time before the race. Once I worked out just how good a GT3 car is, I started to explore its capabilities more and more as the race went on. I'm really happy for the team and amazed at just how much support we enjoyed from the crowd. It's an experience I'll remember for the rest of my life."
