Kyalami, South Africa – July 2025
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 Connected by Vodacom 4U, 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, 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.
Strategy, Stamina and Speed Define a Classic Endurance Duel
The race unfolded with razor-sharp intensity as Visser, fresh from setting a scorching lap of 1:39.929 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.
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 their own complications when Jefferies exited pit lane without fully secured harnesses, attracting a 25-second drive-through. Later, rain brought further chaos. Jefferies gambled on wets while Adcock, seeing clearer skies, stayed out—a decision that paid off as the track dried quickly and the Nova surged ahead.
With under two hours to go, Jefferies made up massive ground and passed Adcock before handing over to White for the final stint. But fate struck again—two punctures in quick succession saw the Lamborghini drop to third, gifting the lead back to RBR.
Charl 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 1:40.10, besting the previous benchmark set by Jonathan Thomas in the same car during the 2024 Nine Hours of Kyalami.
“A Special Rare Day” for Rico Barlow Racing
“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.”
Liebenberg and Naicker managed to recover to finish third, salvaging a podium despite their Audi’s persistent starting woes.
Resilient Runners and Class Heroes
In fourth place, Hein and Henk Lategan delivered a flawless run in the SAC Commercial Parts Porsche GT3 Cup, securing Class B honours and the Index of Performance in their debut endurance race of the season. Behind them, the G&H Transport Audi of the Giannoccaro brothers and Ant Blunden brought home a well-earned fifth, despite early mechanical woes.
The Blue Sands Racing Ford Mustang IRC came home sixth after losing valuable time in the pits to repair a damaged suspension component. They were followed by the Korridas Racing VW Golf GTi Turbo, which won Class C despite being stuck in third gear for the final 90 minutes. Heartbreak came for Graphix Supply World’s SupaPolo—a broken battery cable with just two laps to go robbed them of a sure class win.
Several other teams failed to see the chequered flag. Team Pesty’s Backdraft Roadster suffered a drivetrain issue with 67 minutes to go, while Marius Jackson retired his Porsche after two collapsed shock absorbers made continued running unsafe.
1-Hour Dash: Arangies Dominates as Hammond Learns and Horne Surges
In the 1-Hour Dash, Charl Arangies once again stole the show, mixing it with the front-runners from the endurance field en route to victory in his Vaal Fluid Systems Porsche 911 GT3R.
“It was quite a hot race in front and great fun,” said Arangies. “We can’t complain—it’s been a fantastic weekend.”
Damian Hammond brought the new Samlin Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 home in second after a trouble-free run and valuable seat time. “It’s a big learning curve,” he admitted, “but we’ll be stronger next round.”
Third went to Andrew Horne in his Xena Chemicals Ligier-Honda JS49, an extraordinary result given that he started from the pit lane after ECU issues nearly sidelined his weekend entirely. The Franco di Matteo camp came to the rescue with a spare part, helping the Ligier spring into life and onto the podium.
Rounding out the Dash field, Mo Mia finished a strong fourth in his Porsche 992.2 GT3 Cup, with Antonie Marx in his Shelby Can-Am and Wayne Roach—who suffered a pre-race oil leak—further down the order.
Championship Outlook: Two Rounds to Go
Letlaka and White retain the overall championship lead, while Adcock’s consistent performances move him into second place with just two rounds remaining. With the pace, strategy, and unpredictability on full display at Kyalami, the stage is set for a grandstand finish to the 2025 SA Endurance Championship.
The penultimate round takes place at Zwartkops Raceway on 10 and 11 October, promising another instalment of edge-of-the-seat action as the Southern African Endurance Series continues its meteoric rise.
The SA Endurance Championship Connected by Vodacom 4U is proudly supported by Vodacom 4U, Foton and Proton, Dunlop, ATS Motorsport, and Silverlakes Farm Hotel.
