Latest news with #ToyotaGRCup
The Citizen
22-07-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Facing East London's curveball of speed and rain in Toyota GR Cup
Adverse conditions made the most daunting and fastest racetrack in South Africa even more of a challenge. Round five of the Toyota GR Cup had the ultimate challenge of rain and speed at the East London Grand Prix Circuit. Image: Toyota Gazoo Racing Having gone a year without a wet race, it was only expected that, at some stage, a round of the Toyota GR Cup would be held in greasy conditions. Facing the monster The fact that it would happen at the East London Grand Prix Circuit added further concern to a track none of us wanted to think about or even recognise at the start of the year. The reality was that round five of the GR Cup, which forms part of the National Extreme Festival, wasn't going to change venue simply because of our fears of flying off the road at the fastest track in the country at over 200 km/h. ALSO READ: From zero to almost podium hero in Toyota GR Cup stunner Aside from the speed factor, the infamous complex section at the back of the track, still known by the older generation by its original name, the Prince George Circuit, presented another challenge as per its description. Changing direction through the back straight sweep and then into the final corner, Beacon Bend, would be the final challenge before repeating the process for a further seven times. Practice Setting out for the perennial three practice sessions on Friday drove the message home hard; adapt or die. Comparable to James Hunt's famous 'big balls' interview with Sterling Moss after the 1976 Spanish Grand Prix, going through Potter's Pass and Rifle Range Bend requires exactly that. Beforehand, there was the task of having to bleed the brakes as new discs were given to our GR Yaris DAT's for the weekend. In sunny but typically blustery coastal conditions, setting off on my first flying lap came with the conclusion that, despite the obvious danger factor of the corners in question, the rest of the track shouldn't be seen as easy. The tight and twisty complex section into the extremely bumpy sweep puts massive force on your neck to the point where my helmet was constantly bashing the roll cage. What's more, a section had been resurfaced, making it incredibly slippery and in need of carefully balancing the throttle with the brakes to avoid a snap oversteer moment onto the lawn on either side. Early on, I had decided not to risk the temptation of taking Potter's flat-out. Neither did my colleagues as only a subtle tap of the brake pedal was needed before letting the car run-out to the kerb on the outside. Practice proved fast but tricky in beautiful sunny conditions. Image: Toyota Gazoo Racing Taking Rifle with a feather foot still came with an indicated speed of 213 km/h. Hitting the brakes for the banked Cocabana hairpin was problematic as my decision to apply the ankers between the 150 m and 100 m marker board didn't leave sufficient time to scrub off enough speed. As such, this resulted in the #16 GR Yaris going too deep and unable to get a fast enough exit onto the Beach straight and into the complex. My initial time of 1.38 was satisfactory, but progress could still be made. With the onset of the second session, I decided to not only adjust my brake markers, but be a bit braver through Potter's and Rifle. Dabbing the brakes into the former, feathering through Rifle and stomping onto the middle pedal earlier did the trick. Along with improvements through the complex all the way through the sweep and into Beacon, I managed shave nearly two seconds off my first run. Hoping to break into the 1.35s didn't materialise as leaving my braking into the complex too late nearly came with an excursion onto the outer karting circuit. Along with my speed being too high into Beacon and the back wanting to step out a few times, I finished my third run with a best time of 1.37, and not overly happy. Qualifying chaos Come qualifying, the status quo was turned upside down by the overnight rain that drenched the circuit, made worse by what was later discovered to be a broken feeder line to the city's main reservoir that pumped litres of water onto the track. Failed to be rectified in time, this led to three separate rivers flowing down the main straight where speeds still breached 160 km/h. Worse still, our Dunlop Direzza rubber was of the semi-slick kind and not likely to excel in the wet and windy weather. Having, however, been keen on a wet race, precision and no longer only speed was to be the key as I headed out for qualifying. As had been the case at the last round at Zwartkops, the growth in the GR Cup again saw 25 cars on the grid, which, despite East London's 3.9 km lap length, required us to be split into groups of two. Being part of the first group, the first run at speed saw us hitting the trio of rivers head-on at over 160 km/h. Qualifying for the one and only race was held on a damp and greasy track. Image: Toyota Gazoo Racing An experience anything but pleasant as the tyres momentarily loose grip, the shudder of hitting the standing water was beyond unnerving and anything but confidence inspiring going into Potter's and Rifle. Still, I dared only lifting off a fractionally more before going into Cocabana. More of a challenge was the complex. With the new surface, I had to get my wrestling gloves out to keep the speed up, but not fly off of the circuit. On more than a few occasions, the rear wanted to break loose, yet I managed to keep it steady and with the process on reply, crossed the line with a time of 1.48 – a full 12 seconds slower than my best lap in the dry. While I had no idea where this was to place me, minutes later, it all became academic as after two laps of the second group starting their session, the CFAO Mobility GR Corolla of Riaan de Ru aquaplaned on the main straight and was catapulted into the outside tyre barrier. Despite having landed upside down, de Ru emerged only shaken in another testament to modern race car safety and construction. Needles to say, the session was red flagged and the entire programme thrown into disarray. Race time Already behind schedule, consultations with the Clerk of the Course resulted in the suspension of both SunBet Kawasaki ZX10 Masters races, a lap reduction for all categories to eight, and the cancellation of the second group's qualifying. By late afternoon, and after more discussions, a decision had been made to run the GR Cup over a single race, but over 12 laps instead of the usual eight, and with double points being given. To make matters fairer, the best times from practise was to be used in setting-up the grid for the race. This meant a fifth place start for me, directly behind fellow GR Yaris drivers Kyle Kock (CAR Magazine), Phuti Mpyane (TimesLive), Lawrence Minnie (AutoTrader) and in front of a slew of GR Corollas. With the NMI Yaris of Werner Venter beside me, I managed to stay close to the yellow TimesLive Yaris in front on the rolling start as the lights went out. Having got off to a good start, and with the legs on the slightly less powerful, manual NMI Yaris, I kept an equal close eye on the green AutoTrader Yaris on my left. Heading into Potter's though, the inevitable happened. Keeping tight to the right, I found myself paying too much attention to Minnie, who had, presumably, started moving over to take the racing line into getting a better entry into Rifle. A drying circuit on race day netted fourth place in the GR Yaris media cup. Image: Toyota Gazoo Racing Contact was unavoidable as the rear right of the no. 17 came into contact with no. 16. Spearing across onto the outside of Potter's as I slammed on the brakes resulted in a typical concertina effect behind, but fortunately without any secondary repercussions. Not happy at an incident I felt had been attributed to me either not giving him enough space, I lost a further two places to Venter and the second NMI entered GR Corolla of Theo Brits before entering Cocabana. With a sizable gap behind, I decided to make the best of a pending bad situation and tried to get away as quickly as I could from the pack behind. On a track still greasy but drying as the rain had stopped during the early afternoon, I managed to ease myself away from the chasing lot, but well out of reach of the pair of the 'Pink Panther' NMI cars in front. Despite a few lairy moments into the complex, again nearly causing a complete standstill after entering way too fast, I did gain an overall place after passing the GR86 of debutant, Gabriel Fernandez, with two laps to go. Crossing the line 13th overall and fourth among the media brigade behind race winner, SuperSport's Nabil Abdool, second placed Phuti and third place finisher Kyle, wasn't the best feeling after what happened at the start. Damage to both Lawrence and my cars were, however, light and having apologised, I felt a bit better knowing that I still had one of my strongest races to date. Time for a break As tricky, difficult and dangerous as East London had been, it had also been one of the most testing, thrilling and best of the season so far. The series now goes on an extended six-week break before reconvening on 13 September for the penultimate round at Killarney in Cape Town. ALSO READ: Return to home ground counts for little in Toyota GR Cup thriller
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
15-07-2025
- Automotive
- IOL News
Facing our biggest and fastest challenge yet at the Toyota GR Cup: East London's Grand Prix Circuit
Round five of the National Extreme Festival at the East London Grand Prix Circuit promises to be a fast drive in the #60 Toyota Yaris. Image: Supplied Here we go again! The difference this time at Round five of the National Extreme Festival at the East London Grand Prix Circuit this weekend, it's a race we have been looking forward to with some trepidation. First time For most of us in the Toyota GR Cup Challenge, this will be our first outing around the 3.92-kilometre track with a mix of fast, sweeping corners like the legendary Potter's Pass and Rifle Bend, and a tight, technical infield with only two real opportunities to pass. When management at Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa (TGRSA) sends out a document taking you on a step-by-step guide around the track and suggesting time on the sim racer, you know things are about to get serious. It's been a track that we've put in the back of our minds since the season started, precisely because it's so daunting with little to no room for error, but there's nowhere to hide when practice starts first thing on Friday morning. 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 With 25 cars in the Toyota GR Cup field focus will be key. Image: Supplied Dangerously fast The talk around the paddock and with colleagues who have gone before us focuses on Potter's Pass, the first corner after the main straight. Advice varies from going flat-out to a slight lift or dab on the brakes before turning in. Either way, it's still going to be fast, and I'll take my cue from the TGRSA driving instructors when I'm on the sim. Running out wide onto the apex, it sets you up for Rifle Bend, a kink where the Independent Media/IOL #60 GR Yaris will be doing well over 200km/h, the fastest we have yet driven. Braking will be a crucial factor throughout the weekend because a hard stomp on the brakes slows you down to 60km/h for Cocobana hairpin, the first possible place to pass (or be passed). 'Brake hard otherwise you're going to the beach,' according to our notes, gives us an idea of what to expect. The East London Grand Prix Circuit is known to be tough on brakes, tyres and drivers' necks. Image: Supplied Complex corners More hard braking after the Beach Straight for Butts Bend to set up for The Complex, a grouping of sharp left and right turns putting strain on the car, brakes and our necks as you drift out from The Sweep flat out towards Beacon Bend, the final hairpin before the main straight, and the second area to make a pass. Big field In theory it looks fine but the GR Cup Challenge with six media racers in our GR Yaris', dealers in GR Corollas, and GR Academy youngsters in their GR 86s make up a field of 25 cars. So, apart from focusing on my own race, keeping it on the black stuff and monitoring the brakes and tyres, there will be a lot of distracting activity to avoid in order to make the best of what promises to be a daunting weekend. Bring it on!
The Citizen
14-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Citizen
Hiding over as Toyota GR Cup prepares for East London challenge
South Africa's fastest and most daunting race track will be the biggest challenge of the year not only for The Citizen's rookie, but for all taking part. After a maiden on-track podium in the second race of the last round at Zwartkops, the challenge of East London will be tougher for The Citizen's GR rookie. Image: Toyota Gazoo Racing The East London Grand Prix Circuit, which some of the older generation still mention by its original name, the Prince George Circuit, has an inevitable reputation of being the fastest and scariest track in South Africa. It is time A venue that has hosted motorsport since before WW II, the current 3.9 km track served as the first home of the South African Grand Prix with three F1-sanctioned races taking place between 1962 and 1965, and four non-official events, the last being in 1966. Thoroughly old-school in its layout, the equally famous 'circuit next to the ocean' hosts the fifth round of the National Extreme Festival this weekend, and by extension, round five of the Toyota GR Cup. ALSO READ: From zero to almost podium hero in Toyota GR Cup stunner The final race weekend before an enforced one-month break until the penultimate round at Killarney in September, the track has been the one most feared by all of the GR Cup media since the start of the year. Besides its wide-open spaces, the fear-inducing Potter's Pass and Rifle Range Bends are, by in large responsible, for any mentioniong of the circuit's name warranting blocked ears and not being commented on. The past doesn't lie At well over 200 km/h, the slightest mistake doesn't go unpunished as proven last year by colleague Bernie Hellberg's now infamous roll that wrote-off the GR Corolla used then. Going back further, both rounds of the erstwhile Super Touring Car series 30 years ago resulted in speculator accidents. The first being Anthony Taylor's Toyota Camry going off at Rifle at 240 km/h, and then spinning across the track before flying across the infield and coming to a halt before the braking point at the Cocabana hairpin. In the second meeting later that year, the BMW of the late Sabine Schmitz, then Reck, triggered a multicar accident after missing her brake markers heading into the hairpin. Not immune, the Group N race the following year saw Kosie Swanepoel's BMW lose its brakes and fly across the circuit, over the hairpin and then into the bushes over 100 m from the track. A year later, the title challenge of Nissan and one Giniel de Villiers nearly came unstuck when the eventual champion's Primera pitched sideways at Rifle and slew across the track onto the outside before control was regained. With well known incidents and near misses like these being only a few that comes to mind, the reasons for the neither the GR regulars nor the media wanting to think about East London speaks volumes of the challenge it presents. As shown by Bernie's accident last year, the track penalises any faux par harder than at Kyalami, with devastating consequences. A circuit that demands respect From the main straight, the circuit flicks right into the infamous Potter's Pass where lifting simply isn't option, never mind braking. A corner that demands absolute respect, trust in the driver next to you and the car underneath, the running out wide in setting up for the next corner, Rifle, requires extreme care as the outer curb eventually makes way for gravel and then grass. From here, with the speed still building, the kink over a slight hump that is Rifle gives way to the mentioned Cocabana hairpin. A corner that requires the same respect as Potter's and Rifle, the speed drops dramatically from over 200 km/h to less than 60 km/h, placing a massive premium on the brakes that will take severe punishment over both races totalling eight laps each. From here, the circuit changes direction down the Beach Straight and into the esses, a section just as testing that saw Mike Briggs' Opel Vectra and Steve Wyndham's Ford Mondeo exchange blows in more ways than one during that second touring car meeting in 1995. Tight and compact, the right-left sequence will place a further strain on the already suffering brakes, as well as the driver's necks that are jarred from side-to-side. The third section, known as Cox Corner's, turns left at the back-end of the pits before going into the equally tricky back-end sweep. Part of the circuit that puts additional strain on the driver, it requires the same 'set-up' approach as Potter's by drifting to the outside curb which, once again, doesn't last forever and gives away to the much less tractable green stuff. A complex of corners vital to get right as building the speed and tucking into the slipstream of the car ahead all but sets you up for the final turn that is Beacon Bend. Although easy in appearance, it too can bite as getting out too slowly will result in a drag race down the main straight and into Potters. All new, once again With the same field of GR86s, GR Corollas and GR Yaris' totalling 25 cars expected, the term 'tow' will prove most important throughout qualifying and the race. Besides the higher speed and narrower gap to the car in front, it allows those at the rear to brake fractionally later and then, overtake for position at the prime corners of Cocobana and Beacon. The risk factor, though, is being careful with your brakes as, apart from being the fastest circuit in South Africa, it eats brakes similar to how the abrasive surface of Aldo Scribante destroys tyres, Adding further jeopardy is the biggest mental challenge; us. With the exception of current GR Corolla championship leader and former Group N driver, Mario de Sousa, the majority of the current drivers have never been around East London. The same applies to the media. In fact, while I had been around the track before nearly two decades ago, it was at anything but race speed in a Mercedes-Benz GLC 250d as, out of race season, the venue is a public road housing a number of businesses within its confines. High hopes Having scored my first on-track podium last time out at Zwartkops, but missing out on an overall third place finish after a poor race one, the excitement for East London is high in building further on the outcome of race two last month. However, while the circuit is a proper driver's pleaser by encompassing all the variables; speed, nerves, excitement, fear, precision, being smooth and calculated, it won't be easy to master and with greasy weather another potential factor, it promises to be a tough and demanding conclusion to the first half of the year. ALSO READ: Return to home ground counts for little in Toyota GR Cup thriller
France 24
03-07-2025
- Automotive
- France 24
Hollywood star Reeves in driving seat for Cadillac series
Canadian screen actor Keanu Reeves, a motorsport fan, is to present a multi-episode production that will focus on the team's development of staff, cars and race team through a two-year process. Cadillac was confirmed as the sport's 11th team for 2026 in March. Reeves, 60, presented the Emmy award-winning 2023 documentary on Ross Brawn's eponymous team's success in beating the odds to win the title in 2009. The star of Speed and The Matrix said he felt honoured and excited to tell the Cadillac story and "bring audiences into the heart of this journey and to showcase what it takes to participate in one of the most exclusive sports arenas in the world." Reeves, who has an extensive collection of motor cycles and has taken part in a professional car race, the Toyota GR Cup, in Indianapolis, is not expected to follow Pitt's example and sample the thrill of driving an F1 car. Pitt, 61, who reached a top speed of 197 mph in a test at Austin, Texas, in June, said recently that he wanted to "go back …I want to hit 200!" McLaren boss Zak Brown, whose team supplied the car he drove, said he expected to see him return and repeat the experience.
