MAIDEN WIN FOR STANIFORTH AS SETSHABA MASHIGO MARCHES ON IN TGRSA’S GR CUP
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing SA’s popular GR Cup driven by Netstar was back in action this weekend, at the iconic East London Grand Prix Circuit, for Round 5 of the 2023 season. The weekend saw some exceedingly close racing, but there was the sweet taste of a maiden race win for Brendon Staniforth (Maroela Media). At the same time, ASAMM’s Sethsaba Mashigo continued his march to the title, by taking both pole position and victory in the weekend’s second race.
The East London Grand Prix Circuit is known for its high-speed corners, with the fearsome combination of Potter’s Pass and Rifle making even experienced racers doubt themselves. For the six motoring writers who compete in the GR Cup with their standard GR86 road cars, the idea of tackling this particular circuit was daunting.
Things got off to a damp start, as Friday’s practice sessions took place in changeable weather conditions. Guest driver Mario De Sousa and Reuben van Niekerk (Jumping Kids/Wheels24) had a minor coming together in the Esses, when Van Niekerk ran into the back of De Sousa’s GR86. The latter managed to return to the weekend’s action later in the day, while Van Niekerk was side-lined.
This left six drivers to duke it out for honours, with the first order of business being Saturday morning’s qualifying session. Mashigo, who held a comfortable lead in the standings leading up to the event, continued his good form, by posting the fastest time of the session. He pipped Staniforth to the post, with Chad Luckhoff (Auto Trader) in third and Denis Droppa (TimesLIVE) in fourth. Mark Jones (Citizen) and De Sousa completed the grid.
When the lights turned green for the opening race, Mashigo was somewhat surprised to find Staniforth pulling ahead into Potters – and continue to build a lead in the early parts of the race. But mid-way through the race, he realised that he had the aircon switched on in the car, and with the extremely high speeds demanded by the East London Grand Prix Circuit, every kilowatt counted.
“I switched the AC off and immediately saw my top speeds increase,” said Mashigo after the event. “I tried to close the gap to Brendon, but it was too little, too late. I had to settle for second place, but I won’t be making that mistake again!”
Droppa brought his GR86 home in third place, with Jones and De Sousa both making the most of an opportunity to pass Luckhoff. This set the GR Cup contestants up for an exciting second race, with Mashigo determined to go for the win in East London.
Next up was Race 2, and this time Mashigo and Staniforth brought the fireworks. The pair managed to make the semi-reversed grid work for them, with Staniforth initially looking on course for a second victory. But Mashigo, who had closed the gap to Staniforth decided to go for broke on the final lap, and he made a pass into Potters stick – giving him a well-deserved victory.
Staniforth had to settle for second, but on aggregate times he still triumphed over the weekend. Not that the aggregate times have an influence in the championship, but when it comes to bragging rights, a win is a win: “This was a fantastic weekend for me,” said Staniforth. “I’ve been fairly decent in qualifying all year, but struggled to translate that into race pace. This weekend everything clicked, and I was competitive from start to finish.”
As with Race 1, Droppa came home in third place, but this time it was Luckhoff in fourth, De Sousa in fifth and Jones in sixth place at the finish. All the GR Cup drivers will be back in action early in September, when the action moves to the Killarney Race Circuit in Cape Town.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing South Africa Acknowledges Its Sponsors
Toyota enjoys a mutually beneficial relationship with Toyota Financial Services, Netstar, Garmin, Dunlop and Kinto.
