The Citizen heads to Cape Town for Toyota GR Cup action

It is Round 2 of the Toyota GR Cup 2023 and we are off to Killarney in Cape Town for the National Extreme Series on Saturday.

This is an old-school track steeped in many years of race history, and what this translates into is a track that is properly bumpy in places, and not a lot of runoff if you get it wrong.

What will also play a part is that our Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa Toyota GR86s runs a 2.4-litre naturally aspirated engine that will enjoy the oxygen rich air down at the coast. The full 174 kW of power and 250 Nm of torque will be available this time to be exploited by us and ensure we arrive at any corner a little faster than before.

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New Toyota GR Cup contender

Talking of which, temporary fill-in driver Thomas Falkiner will not be there to run away from the field as he did at Zwartkops during Round 1. He will be replaced by Denis Droppa and this means there will be a new podium by the time we get done in Cape Town.

Setshaba Mashingo proved he has the pace to win by taking two second places at the first outing, and goal number one for the entire field, I believe, will be to try get him the rearview mirror to upset his gameplan as much as possible.

Thereafter, it will anybody’s race, because I have no doubt Reuben van Niekerk will have calmed down a bit by now and realised that going over the car in front of you is slower than going around it.

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Men on a mission

Chad Lückhoff already started to show what he could do once the nerves had settled and he began chasing the leading pack like a man possessed.

Brendon Staniforth surprised many with his outright pace and ability when put under some proper pressure from myself.

And then one must discount Droppa at their own peril, the wily old silver fox has some good tin-top race experience under his belt and he will be keen to make a statement on his first time out.

There is everything to play for when the six Toyota GR 86s line up at Killarney on Saturday.

*Mark Jones is Road Test Editor for The Citizen Motoring.