WATCH: Mark Jones burns rubber in The Citizen’s Toyota GR Yaris

After a somewhat controlled start to the Toyota GR Cup at Killarney in Cape Town earlier this year, the horns started to show last month at Zwartkops.

As the drivers got more familiar with the little pocket rocket Toyota GR Yaris, the times continued to tumble. Then the elbows came out with a bit of rubbing here and there.

Ashley Oldfield remained the man to beat, but with the lead continuously changing and battles between yours truly and Thomas Falkiner being fought throughout. And a hungry young Sean Nurse made his debut and took his maiden win, so things have changed for the better.

This is no longer just about doing hot qualifying type laps anymore. We have gone racing, and now it is about who wants it more on the day. Zwartkops showed that any one of the top four can take the win, and with Lerato Matebese and Jeanette Kok-Kritzinger improving all the time, the heat is going to continue to be turned up. I expect this coming weekend at Aldo Scribante to throw up even more drama.

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The Aldo Scribante Race Circuit is situated on the outskirts of Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth); it is tight and narrow with one straight, and only 2.48 km long. Make a small mistake here and you could see yourself being relegated to the back of the pack faster than you can say Gazoo Racing.

What makes this assignment a little tougher is that none of us have had a lot of track time at this coastal circuit where the wind always seems to be howling. So, figuring out the fastest away around this track in the fastest time is going to be key if you want to finish at the front.

*The Citizen Road Test Editor Mark Jones is one of six motoring journalists competing in the inaugural Toyota GR Cup.

For more information on the Toyota GR Yaris, click here.