The Southern African Endurance Series heads to Cape Town on 31 July and 1 August for a packed weekend of national car and motorcycle racing, headlined by the 6 Hours of Killarney.
Round 3 brings the championship to one of South Africa’s most recognisable racing venues, where competitors will face six demanding hours before racing into the darkness on Saturday evening.
With championship battles gathering momentum, new machinery making its South African debut and several of the country’s quickest cars and riders on the entry list, Killarney is set for one of the biggest weekends of the 2026 SAES season so far.
Six hours from daylight into darkness
Friday’s programme will focus on practice and qualifying, including an important night-practice session for the SA Endurance competitors.
Saturday will begin with warm-ups and sprint racing before attention turns to the main event. The 6 Hours of Killarney is set to take the field from the afternoon sunshine through sunset and into a night-time finish.
The changing light, falling temperatures and long race distance will add another layer to the challenge. Teams will need to manage traffic, strategy, driver changes and reliability as the race develops.
Championship contenders arrive in Cape Town
Charl Visser heads into Round 3 at the top of both the SAE Overall National Championship and Index of Performance standings.
Visser will share the championship-leading #15 RicoBarlowRacing Nova Proto NP02 with Nick Adcock and Michael Jensen as the team looks to continue its strong start to the season.
They will face a varied endurance field featuring prototype, GT and touring car machinery, including Porsche, Lamborghini, BMW and Volkswagen entries.
With valuable championship points available at Killarney, the six-hour race could play an important role in shaping the second half of the season.
The Praga R1 makes its South African race debut
One of the weekend’s biggest attractions will be the Praga R1.
Rising South African driver Tate Bishop will take the wheel of the #94 Praga for ANGRi Racing in both the Sports & GT races and the 1-Hour Dash.
Weighing approximately 625kg and producing around 380bhp, the carbon-fibre Praga combines prototype aerodynamics with remarkable agility. Internationally, the R1 has built a reputation for challenging machinery with far more power.
Can Killarney’s lap record survive?
There will also be plenty of interest surrounding Troy Dolinschek, the holder of Killarney’s current lap record.
Dolinschek returns to the circuit in the APT Racing Ginetta G57 for the 1-Hour Dash. He will also compete in the six-hour race as part of the #60 BMW E46 M3 line-up alongside Sean McCarthy and Brian Fourie.
With the Ginetta back on track and several quick GT and prototype cars in action, attention will naturally turn to the stopwatch.
Can Dolinschek hold onto the benchmark, or will Killarney produce an even quicker lap this weekend?
Cars and motorcycles across the programme
The weekend will feature a strong mix of Sports & GT racing, the 1-Hour Dash and national motorcycle competition.
Spectators can expect everything from GT3 cars and Porsche Cup machinery to sports prototypes, locally developed race cars and a large field of national superbikes.
The motorcycle programme will include National Superbike, Supersport 600 and Sub500 competition, with championship leaders and new competitors lining up across the three categories.
The combination of endurance racing, shorter sprint formats and motorcycle action means there will be racing throughout Saturday before the six-hour field takes over for the evening.
A weekend built for motorsport fans
Killarney’s fast, flowing layout has produced memorable racing for generations, but the transition from daylight into darkness gives the six-hour event a character of its own.
For Cape Town motorsport fans, it is an opportunity to see championship contenders, international-level machinery, new cars and national motorcycle racing together on one programme.
Tickets are available through the SAES website at www.saeseries.com/events and will also be sold at the gate. The event will be streamed live on YouTube and Primedia for supporters unable to attend.
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