The Citizen chomping at the bit as Toyota GR Cup heads to PE

After enjoying the benefits of familiar hunting grounds during the previous two rounds of the Toyota GR Cup at Kyalami and Zwartkops, the majority of the field heads into the unknown again in Gqeberha this weekend.

And even runaway leader Sean Nurse (AutoTrader), the only competitor in the six-man media field with proper racing experience at the 2.48km Aldo Scribante layout, is not exactly thrilled about racing on the circuit again.

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Nurse miles ahead

But despite Nurse’s previous struggles in the Friendly City, the rest of us will have to produce something extraordinary to keep the AutoTrader man from the top step of the podium. After three three round, he leads with 42 points after six wins out of six.

The Biltong Italian Alex Shahini (Carmag) is second in the Toyota GR Cup on 25 points, followed by TV man Hannes Visser (L’at Wiel) on 20 points in third. Both of them bounced back nicely at Zwartkops to earn second and third respectively for the day after suffering heavy crashes at Kyalami.

The Citizen Motoring is fourth on 18 points, followed by the ever-improving Kumbi Mtshakazi (Kumbi-M on Cars) on 14 points and Bernie Hellberg (Driven) on 12.

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Toyota GR Cup gets interesting

What will make things interesting again is the GR Yaris entries which will compete alongside the GR Corollas of the motoring media. Dealers and GR academy instructors pilot these cars and the competition between the lot has been very interesting at times during the outing at Kyalami and Zwartkops.

Mario De Sousa (20) is leading the Yaris championship in the Toyota GR Cup, followed by Paul de Vos, Johan Snyman and Devon Scott, all on 14 points.

Like Nurse, Dawie van der Merwe also boasts a perfect record in the GR86 challenge. Six out of six wins see him tops the standings on 42 points.

Niko Zafiris (25) is seconds, with Setshaba Mashigo (22) in third place.

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Action stays in the Eastern Cape

After the action at the Aldo Scribante Raceway, three rounds remain in the Toyota GR Cup. The fifth race takes place in East London next month, the sixth sees a return to Killarney in September and the seventh and last will be at Zwartkops in October.