Toyota GR Cup – When racing a Toyota on a Toyota day, don’t crash into the Toyota boss!

The final round of the Toyota GR Cup at Zwartkops was always going to be an interesting weekend: short circuit, ultra-competitive drivers, equal cars and the chief executive of Toyota SA, Andrew Kirby, on track with us.

The plan was simple. Have fun, be safe. The overall championship was done. The brief from Toyota HQ was equally simple – do not crash into the boss.

Race one went mostly to script, except pacesetter Thomas Falkiner extended his run of bad luck at the circuit and managed to bog the start, which allowed Sean Nurse to bolt out front in his Toyota GR Yaris and me to slot into second, with Kirby in hot pursuit.

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I didn’t have the pace to challenge Nurse for the win and spent the latter half of the race doing all I could to keep a hard-charging Falkiner out to pick up a second.

Race two went nothing like planned. I got a great start and was leading for a little bit, but a gentle nudge and squeeze from Nurse helped me into the kitty litter just after turn five: I was relegated to the back of the pack.

After getting back on track, I started chasing, but should have just come in through the pits, driven out the main gate and gone home before calling Toyota SA on Monday to fetch their car.

A few laps later, who did I encourage off the circuit at the same place, before properly connecting him when we both went for the same piece of tar coming back on? You guessed it. The big boss himself. Of all the people to hit on a Toyota day in a Toyota car.

Instead of instant death, the universe allowed me to carry on and get past the always hard-working Lerato Matebese. It also let me start closing in on Jeanette Kok-Kritzinger, who was battling to see in the fast-fading light.

The final blow was delivered when I tried a last-lap, late-brake move to get past her which was way too late. I ended up going straight off the circuit at turn two and back into the kitty litter.

That was how I finished last in the race and last overall for the day. Not how I wanted my weekend – or the season – to end.