The chronicles of a rookie racing driver — Part One

I’m going racing this year as part of the Toyota Gazoo Racing SA (TGRSA) team campaigning a 2025 GR Yaris in the GR Cup media challenge.

I’ve had quiet confidence I could be an ace driver. The opportunity has presented itself, and the timing couldn't have been more conflated. Sir Lewis Hamilton starts a new racing career at Ferrari at the same time. No pressure then.

The GR Cup is a part of the National Extreme Festival tour that bunches together different racing classes and takes them to SA’s premier racing circuits, including Kyalami and Zwartkops in Gauteng, Aldo Scribante in Gqeberha and East London.

The media challenge that pits together SA motoring media houses is in its fourth year. The field includes Toyota dealers in GR Corollas and TGRSA youth development drivers in 86 coupes.

Toyota began racing in 1957 when entering a Toyopet Crown in the fifth round of the Mobilgas Rally in Australia. The Gazoo Racing name, which translates to a vision of garages filled with high-performance cars, is a natural fit considering the many top tier World Series the brand is involved in, including Formula One, the Dakar Rally, World Endurance Series and the World Rally Championship.

In 2007 the Gazoo name was established during the Nürburgring 24 Hours race in Germany where Akio Toyoda, then Toyota global VP, raced under the pseudonym Morizo. The great-grandson of Toyota Motors founder Kiichiro Toyoda was not allowed to label the team “Works Toyota Racing”, opting to use “Team Gazoo” instead.

If there was ever anyone who wanted a return to the exciting performance times it was Akio Toyoda. The resurgence of the hot GR models, including the GR 86, Supra, Corolla and the Yaris I will race, can be attributed to his passion for racing. I could relate to such an emotion after the company dialled things down after the era of fast Toyotas such as the Conquest and Corolla RSI/GLI Twincam 16 twins.

My race car, the GR Yaris, is an exceptional little machine with a higher grade cousin that has achieved significant championship wins, including multiple driver and manufacturer' championships in the World Rally Championships.

The 2025 model arrives with a more powerful engine and other enhancements, including the first time fitment of an automatic transmission option.

We will race the automatic cars from the Kyalami round taking place on April 11 and 12 for the second race. The first race scheduled on March 8 at Cape Town’s Killarney raceway will be in the battle-scarred old generation cars with six-speed manual transmissions.

With only days left to my debut race, preparations are well under way, including a practice session at Zwartkops Raceway in Pretoria. Opponents include Willem van der Putte (Independent Online), Kyle Kock (Car Magazine), Lawrence Minnie (AutoTrader SA), Charl Bosch (The Citizen) and Nabil Abdool (SuperSport). This year’s competition promises spectators a riveting fight.

TimesLIVE, the media house I represent as a motoring writer, has campaigned the GR Cup twice, first during the inaugural series in 2022 with colleague Thomas Falkiner and in 2023 with a Toyota GR 86 driven by motoring editor Denis Droppa.

Pre-race jitters are normal. It is, after all, my first time as an official “works” driver. The suit, shoes and helmet sizes have been selected, and I’m racing in car No 50, a handsome thing with black and yellow warpaint. I’m happy to report a cautious optimism for a great season ahead.

The knowledge my name will be added to a star-studded list of individuals who have raced under the iconic Toyota brand name, including personal heroes Serge Damseux and Phillip “Township Tornado’’ Kekana, is icing on the cake.

Look out for regular story updates of my racing campaign on TimesLive.co.za and on my social media handles.    

• Facebook — Phuti Mpyane
• X — @TPetrosexual
• Instagram — Phuti_Mpyane
• TikTok — @phutimpyane