Racing reflections as we encounter highs and lows from the Toyota Gazoo GR Cup at Zwartkops

IOL News

23-06-2025

There were lots of thrills and spills for car #60 at the GR Cup held at Zwartkops this weekend.
Image: Stefan Van Niekerk
It was a mixture of euphoria and disappointment as I drove my Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa (TGRSA) GR Yaris into the pits after the final race of the fourth round of the GR Cup held at Zwartkops this weekend.
Racing can be a cruel mistress and the highs and lows that come with it put you on an emotional rollercoaster.
Practice
It had been more than a month since we drove at the Aldo Scribante Circuit in Gqeberha and during the first practice at Zwartkops I felt a little detached from the car as I tried to get back into my rhythm with my times reflecting that as well.
The previous week I had done a number of laps during a Mercedes-Benz AMG day and with the help of a racing and media colleague had worked out all the important entry and exit zones.
I stuck to them for the second practice ending with more competitive times despite struggling to get an open run in a field of 25 cars including our GR Yaris', dealers in their Corollas and the GR Academy youngsters in their GR 86's.
Going as fast as possible in the Toyota GR Yaris.
Image: Stefan Van Niekerk
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GR Cup popularity
Talking of 25 cars…
It's a testimony to the hard work and vision of the TGRSA staff that has seen the series grow exponentially in popularity from an initial six cars in 2022 to the almost full grid this season including five of the manual Yaris' that we started the season with.
It's now a fully-fledged racing series that follows the Extreme Festival around South Africa's most iconic race tracks.
Practice three went a lot better after I had spoken to Lorenzo Gualtieri from Comprehensive Driving Solutions and shown him my inboard footage.
There was lots of time to be made up in turn one, two and four with later braking and earlier acceleration.
I heeded the advice; my times improved, and more importantly, I was being consistent.
It's strange how the two days dominate your every thought as you go through each corner in your mind even while you're trying to fall asleep, knowing that race day takes a lot out of you.
Because of the large field, qualifying was split into two 10 minute sessions to allow for cleaner runs.
Keeping the chasing cars at bay into turn six.
Image: Stefan Van Niekerk
Qualifying
As we exited Parc fermé onto the track I latched onto one of the Corollas who had set some fast practice times and in doing so took two seconds off my best practice time.
For the rest of the session I concentrated on braking, entry and exit points trying to save my tyres for the races ahead.
Our GR Media Cup Challenge with Charl Bosch (Citizen), Lawrence Minnie (Auto Trader), Phuti Mpyane (TimesLive), Kyle Kock (CAR Magazine) and Nabil Abdool (SuperSport) again saw Abdool tear up the track throughout the weekend.
Race one
The rolling start for race one saw me get a lucky break into turn one and two allowing me to make up a couple of places, but it meant that they were hunting me down. Remembering the advice of keeping your lines and running your race, a group of three GR Corollas and myself ran bonnet to boot.
It's damn exhilarating trying to outbrake and out maneuver the others but at the hairpin on turn two on the second last lap I turned too late, allowing a Corolla to pass me on the inside.
Still, it was a fantastic dice.
Hugging the apex.
Image: Stefan Van Niekerk
Race two
Race two started in much the same way but with six of us going head to head.
It's a tough job focussing on your race when you're chasing, there's someone pushing behind you and you have to keep your cool going into every corner.
I needed to pass one car in order to get a clean run and took my chance on lap four at the turn two hairpin.
The Corolla braked too late and came in wide, allowing me to sneak inside.
Perhaps he didn't see me in his side mirrors but he turned in and smacked me on my left front, sending him into the kitty litter and me sideways before arresting it for turn three.
The calm before the storm.
Image: Stefan Van Niekerk