GT fans warned about fraudulent tickets

Fans of GT racing in South Africa have been warned about fraudulent online retailers selling tickets to the Kyalami 9 Hour.

The event took to its social media channels to advise fans wishing to attend next month’s event that “tickets purchased from Viagogo and other secondary resellers are fraudulent.”

It added that GT fans in possession of such tickets would not be granted entry to the event.

The Kyalami 9 Hour is the second round of the 2023 Intercontinental GT Challenge.

That competition starts with the Bathurst 12 Hour which runs from February 3-5 with further events including the 24 Hours of Spa, Indianapolis 8 Hour, and Gulf 12 Hours.

The Kyalami 9 Hour can trace its roots to the late 1950s, when it was known as the South African Nine Hour Endurance Race.

It moved to its current venue in 1961 and, as the Kyalami 6 Hours, was part of the World Sportscar Championship in 1974.

It returned to the world championship as a 1000km race in the 1980s, won by the Porsche of Stefan Bellof and Derek Bell for Porsche in 1983 and the Lancia LC2-94 of Riccardo Patrese and Alessandro Nannini a year later.

Non-championship races were held until the late 1980s at which point the event disappeared, while the circuit itself underwent a significant overhaul.

Three races were held from 1998 to 2000 before the 9 Hour was reinvented for 2019 as part of the Intercontinental GT Challenge.

Kyalami has been central to discussions about a potential Formula 1 return to Africa in the coming years.

A recent project had attempted to lure the sport’s premier class for 2023, though that deal never came to fruition.

Improvements need to be made to the venue for it to gain the licence level needed for Formula 1, which the circuit owner, Toby Venter, is not motivated to personally invest in.