Johannesburg driver Warren Lombard makes a welcome return to the 2023 Mobil 1 V8 Supercars Championship that sees the “rolling thunder” season commence at the celebrated Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit as part of the Joburg Kyalami 9-Hour event on 23-25 February.
While Lombard’s sixth place at the end of last season does not begin to explain the mechanical misfortunes that plagued his campaign, the PEP BOYS/Bumper-to-Bumper-backed Ford Falcon driver would suffer something as hapless as a puncture after a sound tyre strategy. When he finished, though, he finished strongly and went into the mid-season break on the back of a maiden race victory. In 2022, he drew first blood with a maiden pole position, something he will look to repeat at Kyalami, which he hopes to follow up with a win.
Last year was Lombard’s first outing at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit. Despite alternating weather conditions throughout the weekend, he was able to quickly get onto pace and qualified in second place on the starting grid.
“Happy to be back in the Falcon and excited to be back at Kyalami. To be part of this prestigious event is fantastic, but to be taking on the iconic Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit is always special. As for the championship, I hope to make the best start possible to my season and hopefully we don’t run into any nagging little issues this season so we can put in a strong challenge for the title,” said Lombard.
PRACTICE, QUALIFYING & RACE PROGRAMME
• Thursday, 23 February – Practice 1 – 09:50
• Thursday, 23 February – Practice 2 – 17:35
• Friday, 24 February – Qualifying – 09:15
• Friday, 24 February – Race 1 – 14:20
• Saturday, 25 February – Race 2 – 09:00
The event promoter will make online and television broadcast information available closer to the weekend. Lombard thanks PEP BOYS, Bumper-To-Bumper, Hi-Tech Mag Repairs, GW Racing and Di Matteo Racing for the support.
Published by: Motorsport Fanatix – Raymond Cornwell
MSA Publishes media releases from a host of different sources on our website as a service to the sport. It is not practically possible to vet/approve every release that is published. Some news items and articles are written by correspondents and do not necessarily represent MSA’s views.