As South Africans continue to hit sporting headlines around the world, another local will be donning his helmet this weekend to take part in the iconic Rolex 24-hour at Daytona.
Jordan Pepper revs up his season in the IMSA Sportscar Championship in the IronLynx team eager to set the tone for the rest of the season in Florida, America.
Last year, Pepper spent most of his year between America and Europe performing duties as a test driver and racing in the IMSA Endurance Cup and GT World Challenge Europe Series' with mixed results.
It was the first year that team IronLynx, for whom Pepper raced most of last season, worked with Lamborghini which was also a learning curve for the team.
“As a collective, we've learnt some lessons last year in terms of how the new car performs and I think we've implemented some great steps forward. And yeah, I’m excited to get on track, fight for wins and podiums and just compete up front where we belong,” said Pepper on his first season with Lamborghini Squadra Corse.
“Daytona is one of my favourite races - it's cool to kickstart the season here but it is mentally demanding to start the championship and the year out with the 24-hour race.
“I love the format of the IMSA championship and how strong the field is with the number of professional drivers that are here at Daytona. It’s also fantastic that if you have a good weekend and manage to come out on top, you get a shiny Rolex to go with it. It really makes the race special.”
Mirko Bortolotti, Andrea Caldarelli and Franck Perera will join Pepper in the IronLynx #19, while fellow Lamborghini Factory Driver, former F1 star Romain Grosjean will lead the charge for the IronLynx #60 car.