GT3 Archives - Heels & Horsepower Magazine

Double Kyalami 9-Hour Podium For Into Africa Mining Team

vuyi on February 8, 2022

Xolile Letlaka claimed a double podium at the prestigious Kyalami 9-Hour, earning a third place finish in the SA GT 1-Hour race, before racing to a superb second place in the Kyalami 9-Hour National GT3 class along with teammates Tschops Sipuka and Philip Kekana.

Sipuka and Kekana were recruited into the team as a homage to the missed international opportunities their talent deserved.

The Stradale Racing/Into Africa Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo team created history as the first all-Black African team to enter – and finish – the Kyalami 9-hour. The team gained enormous exposure and interest from the International media on the grid before, during and after the race, garnering the loudest applause from the throngs of spectators as they mounted the podium.

The pre-race grid activities included Letlaka revealing his Africa Race Together Foundation, an initiative aimed at driving sustainability in national and international motorsport through diversity. The Foundation aims to identify and nurture emerging talent across all spectrums of the sport.

After the race, an elated Letlaka said: “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. This result is a testament to the whole Stradale Team as well as Tschops and Philip,” he concluded.

A weary Sipuka summed up his Kyalami 9-Hour experience: “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.”

Kekana, the oldest member of the trio was equally thrilled with the team’s result: “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”.

First ever all-Black African Team Enters Kyalami 9-Hour Race

vuyi on November 16, 2021

Press Release: South African GT Racing Association

When the teams line up on the grid for the start of the Kyalami 9-Hour race on Saturday, 4th December, a piece of South African motorsport history will be made with the appearance of the first all-Black African team tackling the famous race.

The final round of the Intercontinental GT Championship will see Xolile Letlaka, Tschops Sipuka and Philip Kekana take on the best GT3 racers in the world behind the wheel of their Into Africa Mining Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo.

Letlaka and Sipuka raced their Huracan GT3 to two victories and a second place finish from their four starts in the 2021 SA Endurance Series, providing a taste of things to come in the Kyalami 9-Hour where they will be aiming to win the National Class. Despite missing the first round of the Endurance series, and a non-finish at the Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) round, Letlaka and Sipuka lie third in the championship standings.

Philip Kekana
Tschops Sipuka
Xolile Letlaka

48-year-old businessman Xolile Letlaka became the first man of colour to win a round of the Endurance series last year, his first race in a pukka GT3 car, teamed with Charl Arangies.

“It will probably be one of the proudest days of my life”, said Letlaka about how he will feel when standing on the grid with his teammates while the National Anthem is played. “Fielding a team with two drivers who grew up in rural villages in the Eastern Cape and one from Soweto speaks to my motto of “we lift as we rise.”

Tschops Sipuka needs no introduction to SA motorsport fans. He won the Polo Cup title in 2002 and 2003 before progressing into production cars in a factory-backed Audi. After a seven year absence from the sport, he returned to GTC racing in 2019, winning the East London round. The 43-year old Sipuka raced a Mercedes Supertruck and tested an Indy Lights car during his varied career.

“It will be an honour to showcase ourselves on an international stage,” said Sipuka. “Consistency and speed will be our watchwords. The Kyalami 9-Hour is going to be a very special moment for our team.”

Philip Kekana is both excited and nervous about his GT3 racing debut; having been out of the sport for a long time, he is relishing his test session ahead of the big race.

“It’s going to be a steep learning curve for me; I have to become accustomed to the car – understand how the machine works and how far I can push it. I was very excited when Xolile called to offer me the drive. I’ve been training hard since then”, said the 55-year-old Sowetan resident.

Kekana started racing Group N cars in 1997 before winning the title in 2002 and hopes the Into Africa Mining team will inspire young black children to take a bigger interest in motorsport, especially from an engineering perspective.