Racing the new GR Yaris: insights from our driver in the Toyota GR Cup Challenge

It was the closest racing yet seen in the Toyota GR Cup Challenge this season as we tackled the Aldo Scribante Circuit in Gqeberha.

When we arrived at the track on Thursday, May 8, we were greeted by our new stripped-out racing GR Yaris replete with more power, new livery, roll cage, upgraded brakes, exhaust and a new eight-speed Direct Automatic Transmission (DAT).

New challenge

Our first two outings in the six-speed manual GR Yaris were behind us and we were now faced with a new challenge; getting to grips with a completely new set-up.

Leeroy Poulter and his team of technicians at Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa had pulled the proverbial rabbit out of a hat by stripping and converting six cars into GR Cup Media Challenge track weapons in a month.

The weekend would follow the normal format with three practice sessions on Friday, qualifying on Saturday morning, followed by two races.

Practice

We were first out early on Friday on a track that was slightly moist and covered in fine sand from a construction site close by. 

First though we had to bed the brakes for three laps, gently at first and then increasingly more aggressive before we could floor the GR Yaris with less than 200 kilometres on the clock.

I had printed out a copy of the track’s 2.48km layout and downloaded a few in-car camera clips to create a picture in my head of what to expect. 

Reality though is different and corners, hairpins, kinks and sweeps approach a lot quicker than watching it on a screen.

To compound matters the slippery surface saw a few butt-clenching moments around the S’s, hairpin corner and sharp right-hander before the main straight.

After getting into a rhythm I could immediately feel the difference in power over the previous GR Yaris and the auto box adapted quickly to the harsh realities of hard racing.

There were one or two occasions where it would gear up instead of holding the gear around corners, but I’m not Max Verstappen, so it’s of little consequence.

I sent clips of my laps to Lorenzo Gualtieri of Comprehensive Driving Solutions and he would give feedback on how to improve my time.

By the second session, we were a lot more familiar with the GR Yaris and the track so the times kept on improving. It takes a paradigm shift when you’re told to brake later and go in wider when the 50 metre brake marker just flashes by at close to 200km/h.

Tyre shredder

It was a good session but what was also clear is that Aldo Scribante was living up to its reputation as a tyre shredder.

It has an incredible abrasive surface and 15 minutes into the session with hot semi-slick Dunlops you really have to concentrate to keep the car from sliding off and going into the rubber marbles strewn outside the racing line.

Some more feedback from Gualtieri for the third session and I was improving steadily and gaining a lot more confidence.

Some of my colleagues experimented with the paddles behind the steering wheel but a couple of us preferred the electronic brain to handle the gear changes and it seems the difference is negligible, especially for the less experienced racers because we get to concentrate on braking zones and corner entrance and exit.  

Look, it’s never comfortable in a race car. It’s hot, noisy, the racing seat grips you tightly as does the five-point harness, the helmet and HANS (head and neck support) device squeeze your face and shoulders but once you’re out of the pit lane and on track it’s all forgotten as you belt through each sector.

Race day

Saturday saw us fitted with new rubber with the instruction to go out for two warm up laps, followed by two qualifying laps and a cool down lap before returning to the pits otherwise by the end of the second race the tyres would be completely shot.

With my "coach's" voice notes running through my head I had a decent qualifying time ahead of Charl Bosch ("The Citizen") and one of the dealers’ GR Corollas. 

Nabil Abdool (SuperSport) qualified overall first and in the Media Challenge followed by Kyle Kock ("CAR Magazine"), Phuti Mpyane ("TimesLive") and Lawrence Minnie ("Auto Trader").

There was just over a second separating those of us in the midfield so racing would be tight.

It would be another rolling start with the GR Academy drivers leading the field in their GR 86s followed by the GR Corollas and Yaris’ all going hell for leather.

I was too far behind Minnie when the lights went off so I would have to play catch-up.

Remembering my notes, I focused on my braking and turning and not lifting off the accelerator around the sweep. There aren’t many passing opportunities at Aldo Scribante and the only way would be to either dive bomb into a corner or wait for a mistake by the drivers ahead.

Discretion proved to be the better part of valour because a risky move could damage the cars and that would be a major blow to our new GR Yaris’ so I settled down tightly behind a Corolla for a fifth place when the checkered flag dropped. 

Race two was a lot more intense with door to door cornering, bumper to bumper straights, some risky dive bombings and a bit of a two wheel gravel fright which eventually saw me crossing the line in sixth.

Damn. So close for car #60.   

Abdool won both races with Kock and Mpanye swapping second and third place.

We’ll be doing more of the same at Zwartkops Raceway, a track we’re more familiar with and also the home of Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa, next month.