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- This weekend the Toyota GR Cup heads down to SA's oldest racing circuit.
- The East London Grand Prix Circuit has hosted top-class motorsport since 1934.
- The track also boasts the fastest corners in South African motorsport.
One of the best things about being part of this year's Toyota GR Cup is that it affords us an entire season on the National Circuit racing calendar as part of the Extreme Festival. This allows us to drive and race on most of South Africa's best racetracks in the country.
This weekend we are heading to the East London Grand Prix Circuit, which is notable for various reasons. It is South Africa's oldest dedicated racing facility and also the fastest.
The first race took place in 1934 and was also the first South African Grand Prix, reported to have attracted 65 000 spectators. Further, South African Grand Prix championship events took place between 1936 and 1939 until World War 2 put a halt to racing activities.
In 1959 the circuit was re-established to measure 3.84 kilometres but still incorporated parts of the original circuit. In 1960 Grand Prix racing resumed, and Paul Frere took victory from Stirling Moss in a Cooper Climax, but Moss returned to clinch victory in a Porsche. During its heyday, the greats of Grand Prix racing, including Jim Clark and Graham Hill, travelled the bottom of Africa to fight for championship points before racing migrated up North to Kyalami in 1967.
The layout of the East London circuit has remained unchanged, allowing us to race around the same track as Grand Prix legends and compare lap times more than sixty years later.
The East London Grand Prix Circuit also boasts the fastest corner in South African motorsport, Potters Pass, where we should clock speeds well above 200km/h, followed by the equally fast Rifle Bend. Out brake yourself into the subsequent Cocobana corner, and you could end up in the surf.
The track is old school in its layout and in need of some upgrades, but its bumpy characteristic should suit the Toyota GR 86, which is essentially a road car, perfectly. The high-speed flowing corners also promise to be great fun in a momentum car like the Toyota GR 86, which will reward the bravest, most precise drivers handsomely.
The East London Grand Prix Circuit is one of the few circuits where we rarely get to drive as journalists, and this should mean that we all start from the same baseline with regard to learning the track and figuring out the best way to get the most out of the Toyota GR 86 as we search for good lap times.
The East London Grand Prix Circuit has always been very spectator friendly, with grass banks all around the circuit where motorsport fans can park their car, light a braai and enjoy first-class motorsport. I suspect it will be no different this weekend, on 21 and 22 July.
