Scribante gears up lightning-quick Lambo for Kyalami showdown



31-01-2022
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Herald
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What do a cement manufacturer, a supercar and construction company have in common? All three intend to fly the Bay’s flag high at the upcoming Kyalami 9 Hour.



One of the city’s famed motoring names, Silvio Scribante, will be rubbing tyres with some of the world’s best drivers at the weekend as he pulls up to the starting grid in his Cemza-wrapped yellow Lamborghini Huracán.



Though the owner of Scribante Concrete will only be participating in the first hour of the endurance event, his team and vehicle will be pushed to their limit in the final round of the 2021 Intercontinental GT Challenge.



Scribante, the team’s lead driver, will compete over both days of the event for an hourlong run in the supporting race — SA GT3 series — on Friday and the main event on Saturday.



The first all-black team competing in the Kyalami 9 Hour, consisting of Xolile Letlaka, Tschops Sipuka and Philip Kekana, as well as a team including ex-Bentley factory driver and Kyalami hero Jordan



Pepper are also expected to line up on the starting grid.



Scribante said the competition would be intense — and relentless.



“The level of intensity these guys are racing is next level.



“They drive these cars to their full capacity for nine hours straight.



“These guys are works drivers, this is what they do — continually pushing the cars and each other to limit.



“Aggression will be key in this race for us.



“We have to attack every corner and straight throughout the race,” he said.



The Scribante family has raced on tracks across SA in everything from karts to supercars.



Despite having climbed the hill in Simola and whizzing through some of the tightest circuits the country has to offer, the Kyalami 9 Hour is set to be Scribante’s biggest test.



“Unfortunately, as SA we don’t have this level of competition here,” he said.



“There is no reason we can’t, though, as we have many international drivers who are winning races against the best in the world.



“But we need to have these types of platforms and events regularly to get there.”



For this weekend’s event — where the race cars’ outputs, fuel and tyres are carefully regulated to ensure tight and skilful driving — Scribante will rely on his crack team to ensure the low-slung Lamborghini performs optimally.



The team consists of manager Byron Teengs, assistant Emmanuel Mwadira and head mechanics Roy Taylor and Glen Nel.



“All of these guys are passionate about motorsport and winning in particular, and that is enough of a motivating factor for them to always give their best for every event,” Scribante said.



The third generation of Scribante speedsters includes Silvio and his brother Aldo junior, both of whom race Lamborghinis in the coveted SA GT Series championship.



In addition to being instrumental in setting up the series before and during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Scribante racing legacy dates back decades in Nelson Mandela Bay.



The Aldo Scribante Raceway on the outskirts of Gqeberha was built by the late Aldo Scribante senior in 1973 on behalf of the municipality, which named the track in his honour. Though it might seem unlikely for a cement producer to support a race team, Cemza Cement CEO Rahul Godbole said the tie-up made sense.



“Scribante and Cemza have always had a good partnership, ever since we started the factory three years back.



“So the idea [came about] of how can we partner in all other aspects, aside from construction.



“A commodity business supporting a racing team is not the norm but it’s about us being an SA company sponsoring an SA GT racing team and bringing it even closer to home — we are both from Eastern Cape,” Godbole said.



The Kyalami 9 Hour forms part of the Intercontinental GT Challenge and includes the world’s best GT3 drivers with racing experience gained in Europe (Spa 24 Hours) and the US (Indianapolis 8 Hours).



The 9 Hour has a long history at Kyalami, with the first race hosted at the circuit’s inaugural meeting on November 4 1961.



It continued to run at the circuit until the mid-1980s, before making its return to the track for its 60th anniversary in 2019.



At the time, Intercontinental GT Challenge boss Stephane Ratel said the addition of Kyalami to the other prestigious GT3 races on the calendar was a dream come true.

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