Pure Pleasure and Total Success for the Kyalami Fun Cup 8 Hours
Nearly 200 drivers from twelve countries will forever remember the South African circuit they raced on last weekend. An exotic and magical journey that calls for more to come. See you at the end of the year in Daytona for even more fun.
It had to be done—and they did it. And they did it masterfully! Sending 62 Fun Cup cars, their teams, and drivers to the Johannesburg area was a bold challenge, which turned into a winning gamble for the M3 Events team, returning from a dream week in South Africa.
“This was the first race we organized outside Europe since Abu Dhabi in 2020—and above all since Covid” explains mastermind Benoît Abdelatif. “It required a lot of preparation, but everything went off without a hitch. Transporting the cars, all the formalities, the logistics—everything was spot on. The circuit staff and the local population gave us an incredibly warm welcome. We truly felt welcome everywhere, both in the impressive new facilities of this track preparing for the return of Formula 1 and in the surrounding restaurants, hotels, and shops.”
And while South Africa is clearly a change of scenery—famous for its warm climate (temperatures reached up to 38°C in mid-January), its safaris, and its still-wild nature—the track itself also won unanimous praise.
“Magical’ was the word most often used by our competitors” continues the event’s organizer. “It’s an FIA-certified circuit with real character. It goes up, it goes down. Located at 1,400 meters above sea level, it’s also particularly well suited to the Fun Cup.”
An Unpredictable Race, Unexpected Winners, Enthusiastic Pros
From a sporting point of view, everything went smoothly as well. The race ran without any major accidents or too many safety car periods. In the end, it wasn’t the pre-race favorites who took the win. The two leading Milo Racing cars quickly ran into trouble: engine power issues for the #280 of Caprasse–Donniacuo–Mazuin–Tourneur, and contact for the #480 of Verleyen–Diederickx.
Long-time leaders, the #506 No Limit Racing car driven by pole-sitters Evan Giltaire, Kelvin Balthazar, Benjamin Hanouet, and Clément Outman first incurred a drive-through penalty, dropped back, then fought their way back up to snatch second place in the penultimate lap!
Victory ultimately went to the #456 of Jean-Luc Beaubelique and his teammates Jim Pla, Simon Gachet, and Sylvain Noël, celebrating to the sound of beating drums.
“The two GT3 pros were discovering Fun Cup racing and absolutely loved it” smiled the famous ‘Madame Fun,’ Vanessa Bouchat. “As for Jean-Luc Beaubelique, he perfectly embodies the spirit of what we do. He was there first and foremost to have fun. Taking home the biggest trophy is just the cherry on the cake after an amazing weekend of racing and enjoyment with friends.”
On the third step of the podium were the revelations of this South African race: European Fun Cup Pure champion Evan Becerra and his Belgian teammate Louis Gysembergh.
Driving the #278 BE GSL Racing car, they finished ahead of the #537 Helice Motos of father-and-son Ayari (with Guillaume Roman), the #33 Food Lovers by M3M of the three Tabery brothers, and the #88 Bell Protection Unit by DDK of Nicolas Léonard and Michael Aumento.
The #183 BH Motors, #285 8KSW Racing, #453 LADC, and #298 No Limit Racing completed the Top 10 of a race finished by the vast majority of the 62 crews.
“Many people, including the circuit management of course, have already asked us when we’ll be coming back” concludes a delighted Benoît Abdelatif. “What’s certain is that it won’t be next winter, since we’re planning one exotic trip per off-season, and in mid-December we’ll be heading to Daytona—another major first. Entries are already open, and if everything we’re hearing proves true, we should quickly reach our maximum quota of 100 cars. The success of our South African event clearly works in our favor. And our drivers love discovering new tracks and new destinations. The Florida banking, where the famous 24 Hours are being contested this week, should therefore be filled with Beetles in eleven months’ time.”
Until then, the friendly Fun Cup community will gather on February 5 at the Cinquantenaire in Brussels to celebrate the 2025 Belgian champions and present the 2026 season, which will kick off at Le Mans at the end of March for the French championship and at Dijon two weeks later for the European Fun Cup—the label given to the Belgian championship.
