SuperSport’s Nabil Abdool takes us through his thrilling weekend at Zwartkop Raceway…
Round 4 of the National Extreme Festival took place at the legendary Zwartkops Raceway just west of Pretoria, marking the halfway point of the 2025 GR Cup. The weekend unfolded in spectacular fashion for SuperSport’s #11 GR Yaris – and definitely beyond my expectations.
As all the competitors descended for Friday practice, Toyota Gazoo Racing surprised us with the news that the GR paddock would be hosting 4 additional entrants into the Dealer category, this meant a record-breaking 25 GR beasts were now ready to face-off in a fiercely competitive grid across the Media, Dealer and Academy classes.
This was by far the largest discipline within the National Extreme Festival, a serious show of faith from Toyota SA in its Gazoo Racing program and GR products.
PRECISION REWARDED
Zwarkops is more than just another venue on the calendar. There’s something magical about a race weekend here with braai’s burning trackside, sun-drenched fans soaking in the action, it’s a motorsport paradise that captures the spirit of racing with a perfect mix of corners, ranging from the fast-flowing sweeps, hairpins and a tight in-field section.
There’s little to no room for error, this circuit has punished even experienced racers over the years, a fast lap requires the perfect blend of each section in order to extract the most out of the lap. Zwartkops also serves as the home base for Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa, with their state of the art trackside HQ overlooking turns 5 through to 8, ensuring guests have a front seat to all the action.
BRUTAL PACE
This is the Media Challenger’s second round with the new GR Yaris, the updated power unit (210 kW / 400 Nm), updated handling package and the eight-speed Auto box has been a game-changer since its introduction down at Aldo Scribante.
The new package has proven to have brutal pace right out the box! Every session has been a learning curve and I’ve learnt something new via the car’s standard list of driving modes and shift modes.
FRIDAY PRACTICE
Three sessions of 15 minutes each, presented us with an opportunity to hone our collective understanding of the car and unlocking the secrets of this track.
Practice 1 - The Academy Driver Devon Scott set an astonishing benchmark lap of 1:11.8. I mustered a 1:13.5 for P9 overall and P2 in class.
Practice 2 - We clawed our way up to P4 overall and topped the Media class with a 1:13.4
Practice 3 - We kept building with a solid P3 overall behind the GR Corolla’s, and importantly P1 in class with a 1:13.0.
What was immediately evident, was how close the times were, more than half the field were within a second of each other, finding time would require an accumulation of tiny increments across the sectors. Qualifying was going to be closely contested.
SATURDAY QUALIFYING
Heading into qualifying, I knew the margins would be tight and the traffic was an added complication, thankfully a decision was made to split the qualifying into two 10 min sessions, a top 13 shootout followed by a session for the rest of the grid.
I initially put down a few strong laps ranging between 1:12.3–1:12.5, feeling satisfied I began my cool down lap back to the pits, however something inside me wasn't satisfied, with a few second’s remaining in the session, I decided to give it one last run, and what a call that proved to be!
Everything just clicked and we put in a searing 1:11.5! This was enough to place SuperSport’s #11 GR Yaris on pole position overall (the teams fourth consecutive Pole this season. Lining up alongside Mario de Sousa (Motus Toyota), Devon Scott (Academy Yaris) in 3rd , and my fellow Media Challenger Phuti Mpyane with an impressive P4 overall. An incredible front row of talent, power & pace.
RACE 1
The second the lights went out the mission was clear, keep it clean, fast and focused. I pushed hard early on, building a healthy lead but didn’t anticipate catching two of the Academy GR86's early on. I was being held up and my advantage had diminished entirely, I was quickly being boxed in from behind, but managed to overtake both the 86’s to regain my race pace and managed a controlled finish.
The early outright pace clenched the fastest lap, ensuring we would start race 2 on Pole. Phuti Mpyane (TimesLive) finished runner up, Kyle Kock (Car Magazine) rounded off the Media Podium. 4th was Lawrence Minnie (AutoTrader), 5th Willem van de Putte (IOL/Independent) and 6th Charl Bosch (Citizen)
RACE 2
The 2nd race was a similar affair, I kept it tidy across the line, maintained a solid pace, and delivered another strong result from lights to flag. Back-to-back wins and a full house of points! Phuti Mpyane (TimeLive) finished runner up and a maiden podium for Citizen’s Charl Bosch who inherited 3rd after a last lap fender-bender between Kyle & Lawrence, an unfortunate incident which resulted in a DNF for Kyle. Lawrence nursed home for 4th and Willem closed off the field with 5th.
The overall finishing position is determined by combining both races time’s. This resulted in Lawrence Minnie clinching AutoTrader’s first podium spot this season!
I wasn’t sure what to expect coming into this round, winning what is essentially Toyota's home race right in front of the TGR Headquarters, passionate fans, and our incredible sponsors. I couldn’t be prouder of how the weekend turned out! The team at SuperSport continues to back this journey, and to represent The World of Champions in this way means the world to me.
THE ADDITION OF NEW GR CUP CARS HAS CERTAINLY SHAKEN UP THE GRID AND SPICED UP THE STANDINGS:
Nabil Abdool (SuperSport) – 56
Phuti Mpyane (TimesLive) – 33
Kyle Kock (CAR Magazine) – 32
Lawrence Minnie (AutoTrader) – 21
Charl Bosch (Citizen) – 13
Willem van der Putte (IOL/Independent) – 7
Zwartkops marked a critical turning point in the championship, we’ve built massive momentum and the key is to carry it through the remaining 3 Rounds.
Next stop: the fast and flowing East London Grand Prix Circuit on 19 July, a track known to favour only the brave!