TOYOTA GAZOO Racing South Africa (TGRSA) wrapped up Round 5 of the 2026 season this past weekend, as the GR Cup and South African Touring Cars (SATC) championships returned to the Aldo Scribante Circuit near Gqeberha for the second time in six weeks, after the round was moved from the cancelled East London Grand Prix Circuit date.
Conditions across the Eastern Cape circuit were mild and sunny throughout, with only a light wind and nothing to trouble drivers or teams over the two days of track action.
The unusual back-to-back visit again produced a highly competitive weekend for TGRSA, headlined by another Race 2 victory for Jason Coetzee in SATC, a perfect weekend for Nabil Abdool in the GR Cup Media Challenge, and a double victory for Devon Scott in the GR Cup Dealer Challenge.
In SATC, Coetzee and reigning champion Michael van Rooyen continued the development of the GR Corolla package around the Eastern Cape circuit.
Qualifying was tightly contested at the front, with Julian van der Watt taking pole position in a time of 1:01.958. Van Rooyen and Coetzee lined up fifth and sixth respectively, split by just 0.004 seconds, with Van Rooyen on 1:02.328 and Coetzee on 1:02.324 – only around three tenths off pole, a marked step forward in one-lap pace since the team’s previous visit to Aldo Scribante.
“Friday was fairly rough, I must say,” said Coetzee. “We started the day and made quite a few adjustments – but with a proper plan this time, rather than just going out and making a hundred and ten changes for the sake of it. I think that paid off, because we definitely made a step forward in our qualifying pace. Looking back to when we were here last time, we were a fair bit off, whereas this time we were only about two or three tenths off pole. The way the tyres dropped off during a run also improved a lot, so we could stay closer to our early lap times for longer.”
Race 1 saw Van der Watt convert pole into victory ahead of Keegan Campos and KC Ensor-Smith. Coetzee made the better of the two TGRSA starts, passing Robert Wolk off the line and briefly running ahead of Campos before conceding the position back through the Esses; contact from behind shortly afterwards triggered a clutch issue that hampered the rest of his race, though he still crossed the line fifth, ahead of Wolk. Van Rooyen worked his way up to fourth at the flag.
“I had a really good start in Race 1,” said Coetzee. “I got past Robert Wolk and would have got past Keegan too, but there just wasn’t enough space through the Esses, so I had to concede the position back. I was hit from behind after that, and when I tried to fight back the clutch started slipping, which made the car very difficult to drive for the rest of the race. The team fixed everything up for Race 2.”
Coetzee turned the tables in Race 2. Fighting through from fifth, he took the lead and crossed the line to claim victory – his second win at Aldo Scribante this season – finishing 0.424 seconds clear of Campos, with Robert Wolk completing the podium in third. Van Rooyen brought his GR Corolla home in fourth, while championship leader Van der Watt could only manage sixth as Andrew Schofield retired from the race.
“We made some small changes to the car and the tyres for Race 2, and it was a lot better,” said Coetzee. “I think it was the first time this season we could actually race them at proper pace rather than having to make a plan just to hold them behind – and I came away with the win, which was great. The biggest thing is just to say thank you to the team; I’m forever grateful for all the hard work they put in, so it was really good to get a strong result out of the weekend. We’ve already got a few ideas on how to improve the car further, and it’s my home track next, so we’ll give it everything to get our best result there. The fight for second in the championship is still alive, so we’ll do our best to make the most of it.”
In the GR Cup Media Challenge, Nabil Abdool (SuperSport) swept both races at Aldo Scribante to continue his perfect start to the 2026 season, extending his unbeaten run to ten wins from ten starts.
Abdool set a new GR Cup lap record around Aldo Scribante in qualifying with a time of 1:10.593 to take pole, before leading every lap of both races for a comfortable double victory within his own class.
The sternest test of his pace all weekend, however, came from outside the Media Challenge. Devon Scott’s GR Driving Academy entry, contesting the separate Dealer Challenge, shadowed Abdool throughout – the pair split by just 0.011 seconds in qualifying, with Scott actually setting the outright fastest lap of Race 1, 0.018 seconds quicker than Abdool’s own best, before a last-lap, side-by-side battle in Race 2 that Abdool won by just 0.062 seconds.
“We knew we were in for a fight this weekend, and we came prepared,” said Abdool. “The competition was incredibly close, and that final lap was something special. To come away with another double victory and make it ten from ten is an incredible achievement.”
Aldo Scribante once again delivered an unforgettable spectacle between the two GR Corollas, even if Abdool and Scott were contesting separate championships all weekend.
Behind Abdool, the Media Challenge fight was between Craig Nicholson (News24 Motoring) and Brandon Jacobs, sharing the Khulekani on Wheels and Kumbi-M on Cars entry.
It was a weekend of contrasting fortunes for Nicholson, who had shown strong pace throughout Friday practice. An inadvertent switch change sent his GR Corolla DAT into standard automatic mode as Qualifying got underway, and with the session shortened to seven minutes, he was unable to fully resolve the issue before his final flying lap, eventually qualifying third in auto mode with a time of 1:12.236 – a result that made for a tougher opening race, in which he crossed the line third. He recovered impressively in Race 2, passing both Jacobs and Tayedza Mbiri (AutoTrader) to secure second place.
“I had so much fun, but ultimately it was a weekend that disappointed for me,” said Nicholson. “We had great pace on Friday, running top three in all three sessions, and I was really looking forward to Qualifying. Unfortunately I inadvertently knocked a switch and put the car back into standard mode as I went out, so instead of shifting gears myself, the car started shifting on its own. It took me a lap or two to figure out what I’d done, and with such a short session I couldn’t get it rectified before my final flying lap, so I qualified in full auto mode, which buried me back in the pack for Race 1.
“I got stuck behind a car that drove a great defensive race, and just couldn’t get past, so I started even further back for Race 2. That was a much more entertaining race, with good battles all the way through – I managed to get by Brandon and Tay to finish second, which was a satisfying way to end the weekend. But I was super disappointed in myself, because Friday promised so much. The car was faultless all weekend, though, so it’s just a case of doing better next time.”
Jacobs’ consistency made for his best weekend of the season – second in Race 1 followed by third in Race 2 – and, with combined times from both races counted together, it was enough to edge out Nicholson for second place on the round, in just his third race in the category.
“The race weekend went really well for me – I got my best result yet, second in Race 1 and third in Race 2, which gave me second overall for the round ahead of Craig,” said Jacobs. “I was super happy about that, because Craig has a lot of racing experience. I’m getting more in tune with the car and learning how to push it to the limit while staying within it, especially because this is only my third race – I don’t have as much seat time as the rest of the field, especially Nabil, who’s been with GR since last season, so it will take more time for me to get to that level. But I’m making progress, and I’m very happy to be putting more points on the board for the number four Khulekani on Wheels and Kumbi-M on Cars car.”
Justin Ford (eNCA) also featured in the midfield battles, while Naresh Maharaj (The Witness/Algoa FM) was classified sixth in both races after finishing a lap down.
The GR Cup Dealer Challenge again belonged to Devon Scott (GR Driving Academy, sharing the entry with Paul de Vos), who backed up his exploits against Abdool with a comfortable double victory within his own class, achieved on his first personal visit to Aldo Scribante this season after de Vos contested Round 4 in the shared entry.
Werner Venter (NMI Toyota Menlyn) was Scott’s closest challenger in both races, finishing second on each occasion, with Theo Brits (NMI Toyota Centurion) completing the podium in third both times. Andries de Villiers (Rola Toyota) was a consistent fourth, while Marius Claassen (Rola Toyota) recovered from a lapped finish in Race 1 to come home fifth in Race 2. Werner Horn (Malalane Toyota), Jaco Barendse (CFAO Mobility Toyota) and Johan and Rudolph Boonzaaier (Waterberg Toyota) rounded out the Dealer Challenge order.
“What a weekend – one defined by thousandths of a second,” said Scott. “I came in a little on the back foot in a way, because this was my first time at Aldo Scribante this season, with everyone else having already been here last month. So there was a lot to learn in the first couple of practice sessions, experimenting with different lines rather than trying to put a lap together straight away, but I was right on Nabil’s pace from FP1. In Qualifying I put new rubber on and hung it all out there, and it came down to 0.011 seconds between us, which really set the tone for the rest of the weekend.
“In Race 1, Nabil and I just sped off from the front and put together eight laps that felt like qualifying laps, playing a bit of a cat-and-mouse game, with the gap between us staying around a second and a half the whole race. Race 2 was even closer – I started from pole after setting the fastest lap in Race 1, and Nabil was on me from the start. I managed to make a small gap in laps two and three, but he was back on me towards the end and tried a very late move around the outside, which turned into a drag race to the line, side by side. He just managed to pip me on the line, which summed up the whole weekend between us.
“On the Dealer side of things, I managed to get away from Werner and Theo and close the gap in the championship – I’m now just two points behind with two rounds to go. Otherwise a great weekend – the car felt amazing, the tyres were amazing, and that Corolla is just incredible.”
The GR86 Development Academy produced the standout story of the weekend. Kobus Reyneke converted pole position into a Race 1 victory, heading championship rival Connor Weston by 1.579 seconds despite Weston setting the fastest lap of the race. Reagile “Spice” Mailula claimed third for his second podium of the season, while Kian Fussell and Vatiswa Mokhonoana were both forced out of Race 1 with retirements.
Fussell and Mokhonoana both bounced back from their retirements in style. Fussell charged through the field to take a superb victory, 0.567 seconds ahead of Tshepang Shisinwana, with Mailula completing back-to-back podiums in third and Emma Dowling fourth. Mokhonoana recovered to finish sixth. Race 2 also produced the dramatic turning point of the title fight: Weston, starting from pole after his Race 1 fastest lap, led for much of the race before contact with Reyneke while defending at the Turn 6 hairpin twice sent both cars off circuit. The incidents demoted Weston to seventh at the flag, with Reyneke also dropping back to fifth.
“It was obviously a frustrating way to finish the weekend, because we had the pace and I felt I had Race 2 under control,” said Weston. “I knew Kobus was going to put me under pressure and I was defending my position. Unfortunately we had contact twice at Turn 6, and both incidents cost us positions. That’s racing, but when you’re fighting for a championship every single point matters. We qualified well, finished second in Race 1 and led most of Race 2 – the important thing is we’re still right there in the fight.”
After five rounds, Weston and Reyneke leave Aldo Scribante tied at the top of the GR86 Development Academy standings, setting up a title decider over the championship’s final two rounds at Killarney and the Zwartkops season finale.
With the 2026 season now entering its closing stages, TGRSA will next head to the Killarney International Raceway in Cape Town for Round 6 on 18 and 19 September.
Published by: Karabo Sethusha
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