Latest news with #LorenzoGualtieri
IOL News
22-07-2025
- Automotive
- IOL News
Surviving the East London Grand Prix Circuit: a day of speed and surprises in the Toyota GR Cup
Overnight rain had drenched the circuit and made the run-off areas a muddy quagmire with the new surface on Cox's Corner becoming an ice rink. Image: Supplied The fifth round of the Extreme Festival and the Toyota GR Cup was everything we expected and dollops more as we tackled the blisteringly fast East London Grand Prix Circuit. It was a race that hovered constantly in the background as the season progressed due to its unforgiving nature, legendary fast bends, tight infield and hairpin corners. As a result, Toyota Gazoo South Africa (TGRSA) had arranged for us to spend time on the simulator at their headquarters at Zwartkops under the watchful eye of instructor Devon Scott, so that we at least had an idea of the layout before getting in behind the wheel of our GR Yaris. Practice We were out early for practice on Friday morning to experience first hand Potters Pass, a fast sweeping righthander, followed by Rifle Bend, taken with your foot on the floor before hard braking for the Cocobana hairpin. It's a lot different from the simulator, let me tell you, and the first session was spent getting familiar with the track, sussing out brake markers and turning points. Border motor racing had resurfaced Cox's Corner, which forms part of the twisty Complex section, and it proved to be the nemesis of quite a few of us as we struggled to find grip before heading flat out into the Sweep towards the final hairpin into the main straight. My times steadily improved in practice two and three with the help of Lorenzo Gualtieri from Comprehensive Driving Solutions, who insisted I could carry a lot more speed and needed to be more aggressive with the turns at The Complex. It takes a paradigm shift not to lift off on Rifle Bend to keep speeding at more than 220km/h towards the Beacon Bend hairpin. It's a hard brake to be sure from the 100m marker, but the Powerbrakes on the GR Yaris quickly slow you down before another flat-out section down the Beach Straight and into Butts Bend before the Esses. Independent and IOL's GR Yaris #60. Image: Supplied Rainy race day Race day dawned cold, wet and misty. Overnight rain had drenched the circuit and made the run-off areas a muddy quagmire. Puddles, streams and a constant drizzle around a relatively unknown track on sem-slick Dunlop tyres resulted in some nervous discussions in the GR Cup paddock. We had been divided into two qualifying sections as a result of the large 25-car grid so that there would be enough clean air between us. I was in the second group; the cars before us had dried up some of the racing lines while the sun was beginning to peek out behind the clouds which augured well for qualifying times. We were instructed to stay to the right of the main straight and to keep the accelerator pinned to the floor through the streams of water flowing over the track. I used the first two laps to gauge new braking points in the wet and especially how to maneuver through The Complex which had become an ice rink. I'd use lap three as the first hot lap and stomped on the accelerator after Beacon Bend. With the sea as a backdrop, the East London Grand Prix Circuit is the fastest in the country. Image: Supplied Dangers of Motorsport Coming up behind the spray of Riaan de Ru in his GR Corolla #555, I saw a slight twitch of his car as it started to aquaplane and slipped past his outside. At the first marshal point after Potters Pass, red flags waved furiously. We were directed back into the pits, where we were told that #555 had had a horrific accident, skidding off the track before hitting the tyre barrier and somersaulting through the air before landing on his roof. It's a testimony to the quality of the safety systems, including the roll cage and the safety equipment we have been issued with, that he managed to walk away unscathed. It was also a sobering reminder of the risks we take every time we go out on track. As a result, qualifying was cancelled, and we'd be using the best times set in practice. Round five of the Extreme Festival tested drivers and cars to the limit. Image: Supplied One race The day's programme was also reshuffled as a result of the extensive delays as cars slid and crashed that saw our two heats consolidated into one race of 12 laps. That would mean 50 percent more laps. The sun was out so we'd have to keep an eye out for drivetrain temperatures, as a result of the track's incredibly fast layout placing an enormous strain on components, tyre management would be crucial and so would looking after the brakes. It would be another rolling start and for the first time this season I managed to get away really well. Turning into Potters there was an almighty spin-off by some of the competitors which I managed to avoid allowing me to make up a good few places, including fifth place in our class. I was starting to get into a rhythm and was chasing down those ahead of me passing a few as my lap times decreased and the car responded to my inputs. Even the sketchy parts of the track were now starting to become a bit more comfortable at speeds close to and over 200km/h. With so many accidents, it was also a sobering reminder of the risks we take every time we go out on track. Image: Supplied Crash boom bang On lap eight heading out of the complex and onto the sweep with the accelerator floored, a GR Corolla tried to pass on my inside and hit me on the driver's side causing me to spin across the track and into the outfield. It was an almighty thump. Fortunately I managed to control the slide, but I had lost all momentum as I rejoined with the pack passing me. The car seemed to show no component damages or alignment issues, but for the rest of the race I was playing catch-up. The day's topsy-turvey events compounded by an unnecessary spin once again showed that racing is a cruel mistress. Still, I had managed to conquer the circuit, overcome the fear of Potters and Rifle and brought GR Yaris #60 back in one piece. We have a six week break in the calendar before the second last race of the season and our second outing at Killarney Race Track in Cape Town.
IOL News
23-06-2025
- Automotive
- IOL News
Racing reflections as we encounter highs and lows from the Toyota Gazoo GR Cup at Zwartkops
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 Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading 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
