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The Citizen
8 hours ago
- 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
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
How Oliver Solberg's rapid WRC return shakes up Rally Estonia
Oliver Solberg has always believed in his talent, but admitted that leading Rally Estonia on his World Rally Championship Rally1 return left him surprised and speechless. Solberg made the most of an opportunity from Toyota to join its Rally1 ranks this weekend, ending Friday with a 12.8s lead over Hyundai's Ott Tanak. After only finding out about the drive 24 hours after winning the WRC2 class in Greece last month, Solberg and co-driver Elliott Edmondson have had only two test days to get to grips with the GR Yaris Rally1 car before heading to Estonia. Oliver Solberg, Elliott Edmondson, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 However, the pair quickly gelled with the car evidenced by a stunning performance that included taking not only their first WRC stage win, but three fastest stage times. While Solberg did have an advantageous starting position, the 23-year-old delivered impressive pace throughout in what was his first Rally1 drive since 2022, when he shared Hyundai's third factory i20 N with veteran Dani Sordo. 'Today was the best day of my life — to lead the rally, win stages and have this amazing feeling in the car, said Solberg. 'I have had every single emotion today I think. When I was on my way back to the service park I was thinking 'wow what is actually going on', it has been incredible. 'Absolutely [I have surprised myself] I don't have enough experience in the car, and I don't know how many times the others have driven the car. I'm speechless. 'For sure, you are trying and I made some small mistakes but nothing dangerous. There were no problems in that sense, so I was just trying to drive my rhythm with the experience that I have at the minute. I just tried to be clean and the car is working really well underneath me to give me the confidence to drive like that.' Oliver Solberg, Elliott Edmondson, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 When asked what was the key to the success, he added: 'The team has been amazing in helping me find a direction that works for me. It is a bit different maybe but it has been working well for me. 'I have been trying many different things and today, trying things to learn more about the car in the different conditions, sometimes it is a bit better and sometimes not.' Solberg's pace hasn't come as a surprise to Toyota, with the team closely monitoring his performances driving a Toytoa GR Yaris Rally2 to the top of the WRC2 standings this year. Oliver Solberg, Elliott Edmondson, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Still, Toyota Gazoo Racing's technical director Tom Fowler admitted that Solberg leading the rally by such a margin has been impressive and has come as a shock. "For sure we know that Oliver is a fast guy and he had a great road position, maybe I'm biased but I think he has a good car, so all the ingredients were there to have a really good first day," Fowler told 'To be leading outright and with a gap is also probably a little bit more than anyone was expecting. He seems to be fully under control and not taking any risks. Of course, for the main team it would be better points-wise if we had one of our manufacturer points scoring drivers there, but he's driving a Toyota and the whole team is behind him. 'The composure he has shown and the level of maturity that he has shown is far and above the most important thing compared to what he is doing in terms of the driving. He is a driver of one of our Rally2 cars and we look at his data on a regular basis and we are well aware he can drive a car, but there is a lot more to being a top rally driver than just operating the pedals and the steering wheel. He is doing everything really well.' Toyota team strategy in Rally Estonia Oliver Solberg, Elliott Edmondson, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Historically, Toyota doesn't impose team orders among its drivers, and if Solberg continues his pace across the weekend he will be able to fight for the victory. 'Absolutely, as you are aware from history the drivers are number one at Toyota when they are the fastest and it is a simple formula,' added Fowler. 'Of course if a battle arises where the risk becomes very high then as a team we need to advise all of our drivers as to what is the best course of action going forwards. At the moment everything is under control and if he continues like this he is in with a really good shout to battle until the end.' Does Solberg feel the pressure yet? Oliver Solberg, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Leading a WRC event outright is a new feeling for Solberg, so what will his approach be for Saturday's nine stages, comprising 125.76 kilometres? 'I don't know,' he says, adding, 'I will drive the same tomorrow. I don't have the experience yet to step it up one more step and I don't want to either as that is not why I'm here. I want to have the same feeling and do my best and see how it goes.' Rally Estonia - Day 2 Sami Pajari, Marko Salminen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Toyota Racing Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 with the police Red Bull Content Pool Joshua McErlean, Eoin Treacy, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1 M-Sport Oliver Solberg, Elliott Edmondson, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Toyota Racing Grégoire Munster, Louis Louka, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1 M-Sport Joshua McErlean, Eoin Treacy, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1 M-Sport Martins Sesks, Renars Francis, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1 M-Sport Grégoire Munster, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Red Bull Content Pool Joshua McErlean, Eoin Treacy, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1 M-Sport Takamoto Katsuta, Aaron Johnston, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Toyota Racing Oliver Solberg, Elliott Edmondson, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Toyota Racing Adrien Fourmaux, Alexandre Coria, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Red Bull Content Pool Kalle Rovanperä, Jonne Halttunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Toyota Racing Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Red Bull Content Pool Oliver Solberg, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Racing Martins Sesks, Renars Francis, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1 Red Bull Content Pool Oliver Solberg, Elliott Edmondson, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Red Bull Content Pool Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Toyota Racing Takamoto Katsuta, Aaron Johnston, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Red Bull Content Pool Adrien Fourmaux, Hyundai World Rally Team Red Bull Content Pool Takamoto Katsuta, Aaron Johnston, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Toyota Racing Martins Sesks, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Red Bull Content Pool Thierry Neuville, Hyundai World Rally Team Red Bull Content Pool Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Red Bull Content Pool Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Red Bull Content Pool Kalle Rovanperä, Jonne Halttunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Toyota Racing Grégoire Munster, Louis Louka, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1 M-Sport Kalle Rovanperä, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Racing Kalle Rovanperä, Jonne Halttunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Toyota Racing Sami Pajari, Marko Salminen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Toyota Racing Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Vincent Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport Adrien Fourmaux, Alexandre Coria, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Vincent Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport Adrien Fourmaux, Alexandre Coria, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Romain Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Romain Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Romain Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport Adrien Fourmaux, Alexandre Coria, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Austral / Hyundai Motorsport Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Austral / Hyundai Motorsport Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Romain Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport Kalle Rovanperä, Jonne Halttunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Toyota Racing Oliver Solberg, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Racing Read Also: Oliver Solberg stuns WRC field to lead Rally Estonia on Rally1 return Oliver Solberg continues dream Rally1 return to extend WRC Estonia lead The key questions ahead of WRC Rally Estonia To read more articles visit our website.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
WRC: Oliver Solberg still leading after Saturday Rally Estonia stages
After a dominant Saturday, Oliver Solberg headed into the final day of Rally Estonia with a 21.2s lead, as the Toyota driver closed in on a maiden World Rally Championship victory. Solberg started the day with a 12.4s lead but faced a similar road position to his rivals. This placement would test the Swede, as he looked to repeat Friday's impressive pace on Estonia's fast gravel stages. However, the 23-year-old, competing in a one-off drive in Toyota's Rally1 line-up, delivered an emphatic performance to complete the day's nine stages with his advantage over Hyundai's Ott Tanak growing. Oliver Solberg, Elliott Edmondson, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Solberg added four more stage wins to his tally that stands at seven, after claiming his first career WRC stage win on Friday. Solberg and co-driver Elliott Edmondson either took a stage win or were within 1.2s of the pace on each Saturday test, which outlined their ability to produce consistent speed. Solberg won three of the four stages across the morning loop, before beating Hyundai duo Tanak and Thierry Neuville by 0.5s on the second pass through the jump-laden Otepää stage on Saturday afternoon. Three Sunday stages and the prospect of rain stand in the way of Solberg from claiming what would be an emotional breakthrough win. 'For sure [this was better than yesterday] as everyone had the same starting position and I could do the stages without any mistakes, win some stages and be clean and consistent,' said Solberg. 'It is not easy when you have these two guys [Tanak and Neuville] behind, and I haven't really figured out what I have done but I tried my best. Of course [I have thought about the win]. I have been thinking about how to give myself the best chance not to be caught and I was thinking they would catch me, but not yet.' Battles throughout the field Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 While Solberg grabbed the headlines at the front, Tanak and Neuville were locked in an intense fight for second. Tanak started the day in second only for a couple of mistakes in stage nine resulted in the local favourite ceding the position to Neuville. The position changed hands on four more occasions throughout the day before Tanak took control by 4.0s at the end of the day. 'Obviously it has been frustrating since the testing we did before Estonia, so I had the feeling it would be a tough rally and we are having a tough rally,' said Tanak. "We need to push for that [second position for the championship points.]" Kalle Rovanperä's hopes of a podium evaporated, as the Finn's struggles to gel with his GR Yaris and Hankook gravel tyres continued. A frustrated Rovanpera felt he'd maximised his package but was ultimately unable to pull himself into the battle. Rovanpera, who has previously dominated the last three WRC editions of the event, will head into Sunday in fourth, 26.5s adrift of third-placed Neuville in fourth. 'We are trying our best and at the moment there is not much else we can do,' said Rovanpera. Hyundai's Adrien Fourmaux delivered a series of strong stage times to emerge from a battle with Toyota's Takamoto Katsuta in fifth [+1m08.2s]. The pair were split by 2.8s at midday service before Fourmaux managed to pull clear of the Japanese, who had a mysterious issue with his GR Yaris. Championship leader Elfyn Evans endured a miserable day mired in no man's land in seventh [+1m30.4s]. The Welshman was unable to extract the pace from his Toyota to climb the leaderboard. 'It is very frustrating [not to find progress] as there are four of us close together and we can't really make any impression on the guy further down the road,' said Evans. When asked if there was something that could be learned from Solberg's set up, he added: 'He [Oliver] has something quite radical with his set up which is not an option for us.' Joshua McErlean, Eoin Treacy, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1 Toyota's Sami Pajari ended the day 26.5s ahead of M-Sport-Ford's Mārtiņš Sesks to hold eighth [+2m14.5s], while M-Sport's Josh McErlean [+4m13.6s] and Gregoire Munster [+4m48.5s] rounded out the Rally1 field. Estonia's Robert Virves topped the WRC2 field with a 26.5s margin from compatriot Georg Linnamae. To read more articles visit our website.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Oliver Solberg continues dream Rally1 return to extend WRC Estonia lead
Oliver Solberg continued his dream return to the World Rally Championship top flight by extending his Rally Estonia lead to 12.4s over Hyundai's Ott Tanak on Friday. Solberg produced a stunning display to claim his first WRC stage wins, making the most of a special opportunity to join the factory Toyota squad on Estonia's fast gravel stages this weekend. After only two days of testing to prepare for the event, Solberg and co-driver Elliott Edmondson, starting eighth on the road, quickly gelled with the new machinery to stun the Rally1 regulars. Solberg claimed an emotional first WRC stage win on the day's second test before adding to that tally on stage four, the second pass through the Peipsiääre test. After building an 8.5s lead over Tanak at the midday service, the son of 2003 world champion Petter Solberg maintained an impressive pace across the three afternoon stages. Oliver Solberg added a third fastest time in stage seven, beating Hyundai's Adrien Fourmaux by 0.3s in the process, before ending the day with a spectacular run through the stage eight asphalt super special. The Swede almost topped the scores in an impromptu drift competition laid on by the organisers during the stage. 'Today was the best day of my life - to lead the rally, win stages and have this amazing feeling in the car. I was like - I want to drift and have some fun,' said Solberg. Oliver Solberg, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Estonian Tanak, disadvantaged by starting second on the road, battled balance issues with his Hyundai, which showed little signs of improving on the afternoon stages. Tanak claimed two stage wins but was unable to make any inroads on Solberg. Tanak's Hyundai team-mate Thierry Neuville made progress with his i20 N as the day progressed, having encountered problems adapting to Hankook's gravel tyres in the morning. The reigning world champion and overnight leader managed to leapfrog Toyota's Kalle Rovanpera across the afternoon to end the day in third, 14.2s behind. Three-time Rally Estonia winner Rovanpera continued to struggle to unlock pace from the Hankook rubber. The double world champion, who has previously dominated this event, felt his performance to finish Friday in fourth [+20.1s] was the best he could achieve with his GR Yaris package. 'One more day of struggle like everyday this year, of course we will try to find something for tomorrow - a better road position will help. I think it's going to be chin to the chest and towards another disappointment like always,' said a frustrated Rovanpera. After a slow start to Friday, Fourmaux delivered an impressive pace in the afternoon to climb from seventh to fifth [+29.8s], helped by a fastest time on stage six. Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Toyota's Takamoto Katsuta slipped to sixth, ending Friday with the joint fastest time on stage eight win, which he shared with Neuville. Championship leader Elfyn Evans was among those that found the going tough on Estonia's roads, with his task further hampered by opening the road. The Toyota driver dropped to seventh [+41.4s] across the afternoon loop. Team-mate Sami Pajari recovered from an intermittent power issue that plagued his morning to end Friday, clocking times closer to the outright pace, to sit in eighth [+1m05.1s]. Martins Sesks put the disappointment of a stage three spin behind him to lead M-Sport-Ford's charge in ninth [+1m11.4s], ahead of Josh McErlean [+1m30.0s] and Gregoire Munster [+1m40.6s]. Nine stages, comprising 125.75 competitive kilometres, await the crews on Saturday. Rally Estonia - Day 2 Sami Pajari, Marko Salminen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Toyota Racing Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 with the police Red Bull Content Pool Joshua McErlean, Eoin Treacy, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1 M-Sport Oliver Solberg, Elliott Edmondson, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Toyota Racing Grégoire Munster, Louis Louka, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1 M-Sport Joshua McErlean, Eoin Treacy, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1 M-Sport Martins Sesks, Renars Francis, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1 M-Sport Grégoire Munster, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Red Bull Content Pool Joshua McErlean, Eoin Treacy, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1 M-Sport Takamoto Katsuta, Aaron Johnston, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Toyota Racing Oliver Solberg, Elliott Edmondson, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Toyota Racing Adrien Fourmaux, Alexandre Coria, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Red Bull Content Pool Kalle Rovanperä, Jonne Halttunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Toyota Racing Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Red Bull Content Pool Oliver Solberg, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Racing Martins Sesks, Renars Francis, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1 Red Bull Content Pool Oliver Solberg, Elliott Edmondson, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Red Bull Content Pool Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Toyota Racing Takamoto Katsuta, Aaron Johnston, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Red Bull Content Pool Adrien Fourmaux, Hyundai World Rally Team Red Bull Content Pool Takamoto Katsuta, Aaron Johnston, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Toyota Racing Martins Sesks, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Red Bull Content Pool Thierry Neuville, Hyundai World Rally Team Red Bull Content Pool Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Red Bull Content Pool Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Red Bull Content Pool Kalle Rovanperä, Jonne Halttunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Toyota Racing Grégoire Munster, Louis Louka, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1 M-Sport Kalle Rovanperä, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Racing Kalle Rovanperä, Jonne Halttunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Toyota Racing Sami Pajari, Marko Salminen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Toyota Racing Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Vincent Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport Adrien Fourmaux, Alexandre Coria, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Vincent Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport Adrien Fourmaux, Alexandre Coria, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Romain Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Romain Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Romain Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport Adrien Fourmaux, Alexandre Coria, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Austral / Hyundai Motorsport Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Austral / Hyundai Motorsport Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Romain Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport Kalle Rovanperä, Jonne Halttunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Toyota Racing Oliver Solberg, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Racing To read more articles visit our website.
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
