There's an old saying about how time tends to go by rather quickly when you're having fun, and this epitomises the 2024 GR Cup season for me. I can't believe I am already sitting behind my laptop, reflecting on the year! There have been 14 races across 7 rounds, taking us around South Africa's best racing circuits. I am immensely proud to state that I won 13 of the 14 races this year, with the single outlier being Race 2 in East London, where I had a mechanical issue!
Related: GR Cup 2024 headed to AutoTrader!
Final practice Friday
I arrived at Zwartkops for the final practice session of the year. I was battling a serious stomach bug and only completed two sessions for the day. I knew that I needed to hydrate, medicate, and rest ahead of what was promised to be the hottest racing day of the year, which was Saturday!
Qualifying
After some medication and a good night's rest, I felt much better at Zwartkops on Saturday morning. Qualifying began just before 10 am, and it was incredibly hot; my goal lap time was a 1min12.8, around a second off of the qualifying time I set earlier in the year. I beat my goal lap time on my second attempt with a 1min12.787, followed by a 1min12.722 on Lap 3. Given the immense heat, I then did a cool-down lap and knew only one fast lap was left in the car. On Lap 5, I put in a 1min12.631 and snatched pole by 0.67 seconds over guest driver Riaan Esterhuysen, who drove incredibly well over the entire weekend!
Race 1
After a confidence-boosting qualifying session, the first race looked destined to be a close-knit battle. I managed to get a good start and found that I could push harder than I thought I could in the heat, and after a few laps of tyre and heat management, I found myself on the rear bumper of an 86. It was a tense four laps as the gap I managed to build over a hard-charging Esterhuysen began to come down. Thankfully I managed to pass the 86 on the final lap, eventually crossing the line to win by just over two seconds!
Race 2
The second and final race of the season saw me line up on pole, and for this one, I felt myself going into a flow state for the first time since Race 1 at Aldo Scribante. I allowed the 86 group ahead to have a bigger gap this time, and aside from a mild defensive move into Turn 1, I executed the other 8 laps without a mistake, eventually crossing the line with a five-second victory over Esterhuysen, who drove exceptionally well over the weekend!
What's next for Gazoo Racing?
After the final race, we attended a prize-giving ceremony at the TGRSA HQ, based outside Turn 5 at Zwartkops Raceway. There, the Vice President of Marketing at Toyota South Africa, Mr Glenn Crompton, spoke about the growth of the GR brand and how 2025 is set to be an even more exciting year for the brand. What was also encouraging was the sentiment that Toyota has now committed to always producing fun-to-drive cars. This is fantastic news in an age where products are converged to what appear to be generic electrified SUVs!
Personal development
This season has been a life-changing experience for me. I have taken racing very seriously and prepared my body and mind for the rigours of motorsport. It's over now, but I will continue to use the same determination and focus in my physical fitness and mental acuity regimes to make me better at my job and, more importantly, better as a person.
A massive thank you
Without the support of Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa, Toyota Financial Services, Garmin, Dunlop, Ferodo, Kinto, ATS Motorsport, Fast Developments and AutoTrader, none of this would have been possible this year. I'm eternally grateful for the opportunity, and it's been an honour to be associated with all of these brands for a motorsport season!
