Nova triumphs in tense Kyalami thriller as SA Endurance Championship heats up

Nick Adcock, Michael Jensen, and Charl Michael Visser steered their Adjust for Sleep/Rico Barlow Racing Nova Proto NP02 to a commanding victory at the fourth round of the SA Endurance Championship, concluding the Four Hours of Kyalami with a 12.6-second lead in one of the most dramatic races of the season.

Against the iconic backdrop of the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit on July 26, the Nova trio held firm in a high-stakes battle of attrition, weather, and relentless pace. Their closest rivals – Xolile Letlaka, Stuart White, and Axcil Jefferies in the Into Africa Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo II – led much of the race until punctures dashed their hopes of victory.

The race unfolded with razor-sharp intensity, as Visser, fresh from setting a scorching lap of 00:01:39.929 in qualifying – a new all-time Kyalami record – handed the car over to Jensen for the opening stint. Having just flown in from testing at Silverstone, Jensen wasted no time, sprinting to an early lead.

Read more: Charl Visser flies in Kyalami Endurance Race

Behind him, the Stradale Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo, of Brad Liebenberg and Ryan Naicker, looked threatening, harrying Letlaka’s Lamborghini in a high-speed train until an early safety car period prompted Letlaka to dive in for fuel, shifting the tactical landscape.

Jensen’s own momentum was interrupted by a drive-through penalty for overtaking under safety car conditions. Naicker took full advantage, pushing the Audi into the lead, only to relinquish it at the hour mark for a routine driver change to Liebenberg – one that triggered a cascade of issues. A faulty starter motor meant push-starts at every pit stop, resulting in a trio of drive-through penalties and effectively ending their fight for the win.

The Into Africa camp faced its own complications, when Jefferies exited the pit lane without a fully secured harness, attracting a 25-second drive-through. Later, rain brought further chaos. Jefferies gambled on wets, while Adcock, seeing clear skies, stayed out – a decision that paid off as the track dried quickly and the Nova surged ahead.

Visser stepped into the Nova for the final stint and delivered a masterclass. Calm, measured, and brutally fast, Visser pulled away from White, and sealed the win by setting a new Kyalami lap record of 00:01:40.10, besting the previous benchmark set by Jonathan Thomas in the same car during the 2024 Nine Hours of Kyalami.

“It’s one of those special, rare days with pole position, a lap record, and the win, so we’re more than happy,” said an elated Adcock. “It’s a great credit to the team – Rico Barlow Racing meticulously prepares the car, which ran like a Swiss watch all day. Charl did the heavy lifting, and once again we faced stiff competition from Into Africa. It was nip and tuck, but the punctures turned things in our favour.”

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