GET READY TO RUMBLE!
Now in its third season, the 2024 edition of the coveted GR Cup will feature a CAR Magazine-liveried GR Corolla tackling several circuits across the country. Starring the most potent Gazoo-fettled hatch to tackle the spec series, we preview the upcoming season.
Demonstrating Toyota’s Gazoo Racing performance division in South Africa, the GR Cup has evolved into the quintessential opportunity for motorsporthungry journalists to share the enthralling experience with likeminded viewers and readers. From inside the paddock and into the cockpit, it’s an opportunity that is dif cult to resist. The prospect of piloting a works race car is a dream many of us who were raised on copious amounts of Formula 1, WRC and endurance racing had as children.
These are all competitions in which Toyota has enjoyed varying levels of success but, in 2007, in the midst of its F1 presence, Gazoo Racing was launched as a small motorsport project to the Japanese automaker. Following a rise to prominence under the direct guidance of Toyota Motor Corporation chairman Akio Toyoda, the division eventually began to channel its racing expertise into road-going cars towards the end of the 2010s.
Fast forward to 2024 and the Toyota line-up now brims with Gazoo Racing-badged models of varying hierarchy, from sporty aesthetic kits to full-fat performance models. The most recent of the uncompromising crop is the GR Corolla, immediately discernible from its standard counterpart courtesy of its widened stance, muscular bodywork, and a rear valance housing a signature three-port exhaust. Under its bonnet sits a 1.6-litre three-cylinder engine with stock outputs of 221 kw and 370 N.m. The GR Cup cars use this model as a starting point, adding exhaust upgrades that free up an additional 11 kw and 20 N.m.
A Powerbrake big-brake kit with ducting and Ferodo track-spec pads are tasked with keeping the car in check during the several laps each race spans.
Tucked into the bucket seat nestled between bits of metal scaffolding, it was time to get familiar with all of these updates to the car I had driven only two months earlier in stock form. Times tumbling and building familiarity with optimal racing lines and braking zones, it is worth mentioning that despite the wealth of contenders in the series, none of us are professional racing drivers. With varying levels of on-track and wheel-to-wheel experience in the past across the eld, the season ahead will serve as a platform for me to grow as a driver while sharing these experiences with our readers and viewers.