09/02/2026
Warwick Wealth Sports & GT Round 1.
V8 domination & mid-pack grit and determination
The silence of the off-season was shattered this weekend as the Sports & GT Championship returned to the tarmac for Round 1. It was a high speed chess match at the front and a bare-knuckle brawl in the mid-pack. If you missed the roar of the Class S engines, you missed an on-track battle of attrition.
Before the lights even went green, the paddock was buzzing about the return of Divan Wentzel. Making his Sports & GT debut in the #48 Porsche of Andreâ Brink, Wentzel proved he has what it takes, qualifying on the second row. Meanwhile, the ghost of last yearâs pace hung over the grid, specifically the 1:06.709 official lap record set by Troy Dolinchek in the Ginetta G57 helmed by Gary Kieswetter.
Kieswetterâs Heartbreak
For the first half of the race, it was a two-horse race between the Class S giants, Dawie Joubert and Gary Kieswetter. Trading 1:09s and 1:10s like heavyweight punches, they gapped the field by a country mile. However, the Killarney tarmac can be a cruel mistress. Starting in P2 Kieswetter got the jump on the Nova Proto piloted by Joubert and held the lead convincingly. While navigating back-markers, leader Kieswetter made contact at the exit of Turn 2. The resulting contact sent him to the tail end of the field. In a Herculean recovery effort, he clawed his way back to a respectable second place.
Mid-Pack Mayhem
With the leaders checked out, the real âaction movieâ was playing out for P3 through P6:
Sandro Biccari provided the highlight reel, engaged in a massive battle with Yanni Hatzi. Baccari eventually suffered a spin, sliding backward off the circuit, but managed to keep the engine running to rejoin the fight.
Roberto Franco drove a clinical race to lock down the final podium spot (P3), fending off a charging Divan Wentzel who took a commendable P4 on his series debut. Wayne Hoffman and Martin Pugh rounded out the top six after a race-long tactical battle.
Near-Miss at the Flag
Even with a massive lead, Joubert didnât have a boring final lap. Coming through the final corners, he nearly tucked the nose of his Nova into the back of a lapped Volschenk. A few millimeters more and it could have been a very expensive carbon fiber tragedy.
The Result: Dawie Joubert takes the win and the fastest lap (1:08.77), setting a terrifyingly high bar for the rest of the season.
Race 2: Revenge of the Ginetta and a Masterclass in Defensiveness
If Race 1 was about Dawie Joubert in his Nova Proto NP02, Race 2 was a gritty story of redemption and iron-clad defense. After the morningâs heartbreak, Gary Kieswetter returned to the grid with a point to prove, and he did it under the most intense pressure.
The Restart and the Revenge
The race was split into two parts following a terrifying red-flag incident involving Wayne Hoffman. Thankfully, word from the medical center confirmed Hoffman was okay, though his car was less fortunate.
When the lights went out for the 7-lap sprint restart, Kieswetter didnât waste time. He went wide and to the outside exiting turn 1 alongside the Nova Proto, allowing him to lean on the Ginettaâs loud pedal to take full advantage of the grunt of that 6.2 liter V8 behind his back. This allowed him to get in front of Joubert to take the lead in T2. Joubert, stalking him in the Nova Proto, spent the next seven laps applying immense pressure and looking for a gap that simply never materialized. The two Class S titans were in a league of their own, lapping back-markers like they were standing still and clocking times (1:09.7) that would make a Superbike rider sweat.
The Podium Shuffle
Behind the LMP2 machinery, the battle for the final step of the podium was a tactical chess match:
Divan Wentzel proved his Race 1 pace was no fluke. After being âcut offâ by Roberto Franco early on, Wentzel showed composure in the #48 Porsche, eventually clinching P3 overall and the class win. A stellar debut weekend for the man from the dirt-track world.
Yanni Hatzi brought the Nissan home in a solid P4, while Sandro Biccari, the iRacing maestro took P5.
Roberto Franco, who looked like a podium contender early on, suffered a âmomentâ that dropped him to P6, leaving him to spend the closing laps fighting back through the field.
Class Honors and Final Sprints
The depth of the field was on full display in the closing stages:
Andre Steenkamp took the Class C honors, driving a flawless race in the Nardini.
Connor Kilbride, after making a last minute decision to compete in round 1 in his BMW E46, claimed the Class D trophy.
The Verdict
Kieswetter held on by a hairâs breadth, just 0.2 seconds to take the win. It was a masterclass in placing a wide racing car exactly where it needed to be. As the sun sets on Round 1, the rivalry between the two prototypes is officially the story of the season.
Full image gallery below with contributions from Cloudnr9
