The fourth round of the 2026 GR Cup delivered a spectacular weekend of motorsport at the Aldo Scribante Circuit with breakthrough performances across all three competitive categories.
In the GR Cup Media Challenge, SuperSport’s Nabil Abdool arrived with clear intentions after topping practice and immediately confirmed that pace when it mattered most. Building on a strong foundation across Friday practice sessions, Abdool delivered a blistering qualifying lap to secure pole position while also setting a new GR Cup lap record around the Gqeberha circuit.
Race 1 saw that advantage converted into a controlled lights-to-flag victory. Abdool made a clean getaway and immediately established a gap to the chasing pack, managing proceedings from the front to open his account for the weekend. News24’s Craig Nicholson continued his consistent form with another second-place finish, while Brandon Jacobs, representing Kumbi-M on Cars, secured his first podium of the season in third. AutoTrader’s Tayedza Mbiri finished fourth, followed by Justin Ford (eNCA) in fifth.
Race 2 followed a similar pattern at the front, with Abdool once again leading from pole position went on to secure his eighth consecutive victory of the season while also setting the fastest lap of the weekend. Nicholson continued his form with a solid second place, Jacobs completed another podium in third, with Mbiri and Ford rounding out the top five.
"A perfect weekend for 'Zeus' and I in Gqeberha," said Abdool.
"The pace of the new GR Corolla package has been incredible, and it's difficult to put into words just how rewarding weekends like this are.
"A huge thank you to Toyota and the entire team, whose hard work behind the scenes makes weekends like this possible. Every session pushes us all to raise the bar, and it's a privilege to race against such a talented group."
The supporting GR Cup categories once again delivered competitive and closely fought racing throughout the field.
The GR Cup Dealer Challenge produced another commanding performance from Paul de Vos of the GR Driving Academy, who extended his winning streak with a clean sweep of victories. Despite NMI Toyota Menlyn’s Werner Venter edging De Vos to pole position in qualifying, De Vos responded strongly in both races to secure back-to-back wins and further strengthen his championship campaign.
Behind the race winner, the fight for the remaining podium positions proved closely contested. Venter and Rola Toyota’s Andries de Villiers traded positions across the weekend, with Venter ultimately securing second overall. De Villiers was rewarded for his speed and consistency with his maiden podium finish in the category.
The GR86 Development Academy once again produced some of the closest racing of the weekend, headlined by the ongoing duel between championship contenders Connor Weston and Kobus Reyneke.
Reyneke converted pole position into victory in Race 1, finishing ahead of Weston, while Reagile “Spice” Mailula secured his first podium finish of the season in third.
Race 2 delivered one of the standout moments of the entire event. Weston and Reyneke ran in close formation for the majority of the race before arriving at the final corner side-by-side. Exiting the last turn, the pair remained wheel-to-wheel with minimal margin for error as they sprinted to the finish line, where Weston ultimately edged Reyneke by just 0.019 seconds. Kian Fussell completed the podium after another strong drive.
With four rounds now complete, the championship now heads into a short mid-season break before resuming at the East London Grand Prix Circuit on 15 August, where the battle across all three GR Cup categories is set to intensify.
Remaining 2026 National Extreme Festival Calendar:
15 Aug: Prince George Circuit, East London
19 Sep: Killarney International Raceway, Cape Town
17 Oct: Zwartkops Raceway, Pretoria