Published on: 27/11/2024 Updated on: 20/02/2025
Gian Maria Gabbiani takes to the track at the famous 9 Hours of Kyalami with our colors at the wheel of a Backdraft, a very special car
A passion for racing leads drivers to participate behind the wheel of unusual cars in races held in distant countries. Take for example the case of Gian Maria Gabbiani.
Son of art (his father Beppe Gabbiani boasts a long career in motorsport, Formula 1 including between 1978 and 81), Gian Maria has been in the world of competition since he was a child, through his first kart races.
His sports resume includes races in Formula 3, Formula 3000, Grand Touring, Turismo, Le Mans Series, Superstar Series and American experience in NASCAR and with Indy Light single-seaters.
His love for the sport also led him to successfully engage in powerboating, so much so that he won two Powerboat Endurance Gr. B world titles in 2011 and 2012 and achieved outstanding results as a rookie in the World Offshore Class 1.
Gian Maria Gabbiani, also known as #serialdriver, as well as a driver, is a host and curator of television programs and organizer of safe driving events.
With Maniac Line at the 9 Hours of Kyalami
In 2023 Gian Maria added a new experience to his long career. Thanks to the support of Mafra, in fact, he was able to take part in the 9 Hours of Kyalami, a race of great tradition.
Supporting his efforts is Gondolier Automotive Technologies, Mafra 's official distributor for South Africa, which is setting up display areas of Mafra products for the race on the track near Johannesburg and inviting its customers to attend the event.
Gabbiani will participate in the South African race with a car that, in addition to the Italian colors (the body will be white, with red and green stripes), will carry the insignia of Maniac Line, Mafra 's high-performance product line for car care enthusiasts.
A special car for the 9 Hours of Kyalami
The commitment in South Africa for Gian Maria is actually double. In fact, the event schedule includes a first race, the 3 Hours of Kyalami, on Friday, February 21, while the more well-known 9 Hours of Kyalami is staged on Saturday, February 22.
Both races are valid for the Southern African Endurance Series, the hard-fought South African endurance racing championship.
At the two competitions Seagulls participates with a special car, the Backdraft.
"It is a sort of replica of the famous Cobra of the 1960s," Gian Maria says, "produced in South Africa by a company founded in 2002 to build niche cars and driven by Tony Martin, a local driver who, in 1984, won the famous 24 Hours of Daytona in a Porsche-powered March."
About fifteen Backdrafts participate in the South African Endurance Championship races competing for their own standings, but also for the overall one. In fact, the characteristics of the car allow for good results.
"The Backdraft is a very light car," Gabbiani says, "so much so that, engine aside, it weighs only 450 kg, thanks in part to the Kevlar bodywork. The powertrain is a classic V8 stock bloc, that is, with a block derived from mass production, with about 350 hp of power."
"It is a very fun car to drive and competitive," Gian Maria continues, "with which I finished third in class last year at Kyalami, along with two other drivers, driving for more than four hours."
Only an incident in the pits deprived Gian Maria of the success he is aiming for again in the 2025 edition of the South African race.
Joining him this time is Manuel Grandi, a "rookie driver, but very talented," according to Gabbiani.
The beauty of these competitions, as Gian Maria points out, is that you can have a lot of fun behind the wheel, with a car that is technically simple, but challenging because it is powerful, rear-wheel drive and has no electronic controls. There is, in fact, no traction control or anti-lock brakes.
Racing with Backdrafts means challenging opponents in essentially identical cars and, most importantly, "having a special experience on a very limited budget."
9 Hours of Kyalami, a prestigious race
For a driver, racing on the South African circuit has a special flavor. Indeed, the 9 Hours of Kyalami has a long sporting tradition.
The first international editions date back to the early 1960s, and its roll of honor includes the names of such champions as Jacky Ickx, Clay Regazzoni, Ignazio Giunti, Arturo Merzario, Henri Pescarolo, Jody Scheckter, Riccardo Patrese, and Alessandro Nannini.
Track legends recur among the most famous cars that came out on top in the 9 Hours of Kyalami: Ferrari 250 GTO, 365 P2, 512 M and 312 PB, Porsche 550 RS, 908, 917, 956 and 962 and the Lancia LC2.
In more recent years, when the race has been run with Grand Touring cars, the winners have been equally famous cars such as the Porsche 911 GT3, the BMW M6 and M4 GT3 and the Mercedes-AMG GT.
We at Mafra are cheering on Gian Maria Gabbiani and his teammate Manuel Grandi as they hold high the Maniac Line colors in a very prestigious race to watch closely!
