Home News NURSE, SCOTT, AND VAN DER MERWE CROWNED GR CUP CHAMPIONS AT KILLARNEY
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NURSE, SCOTT, AND VAN DER MERWE CROWNED GR CUP CHAMPIONS AT KILLARNEY

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The 2024 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing SA GR Cup delivered a weekend of thrilling action at the Killarney International Raceway in Cape Town, with sunny, mild to warm weather providing the perfect conditions for racing. The penultimate round of the season saw championship titles being decided in all three categories, as Sean Nurse (AutoTrader), Devon Scott (GR Driving Academy), and Dawie van der Merwe (GR86) secured their respective championships before the final event at Zwartkops Raceway.

GR Cup Media Challenge (GR Corolla)

Qualifying: Hannes Visser (La’t Wiel) secured his first pole position of the season with a time of 1:24.610, narrowly beating Sean Nurse (AutoTrader) by 0.141 seconds. Alex Shahini (CAR) rounded out the top three, while Kumbi Mtshakazi (Kumbi-M on Cars), Jaco van der Merwe (Citizen), and Bernie Hellberg (Driven) completed the grid.

PositionNameBest TimeGap
1Hannes Visser1:24.610
2Sean Nurse1:24.751+0.141
3Alex Shahini1:24.768+0.158
4Kumbi Mtshakazi1:26.361+1.751
5Jaco van der Merwe1:26.761+2.151
6Bernie Hellberg1:27.977+3.367

Race 1: In the opening race, Visser started strongly but eventually relinquished the lead to Nurse midway through the race. Nurse’s victory in this race secured him the 2024 GR Cup Media Challenge title. Visser fought off Shahini’s challenges to finish second, while Shahini had to settle for third. Kumbi held off van der Merwe to take fourth, with Hellberg completing the race in sixth.

PositionNameTotal TimeGap
1Sean Nurse11:44.889
2Hannes Visser11:46.280+1.391
3Alex Shahini11:46.486+1.597
4Kumbi Mtshakazi12:01.192+16.303
5Jaco van der Merwe12:09.902+25.013
6Bernie Hellberg12:12.346+27.457

Race 2: The second race saw Nurse once again taking the victory. Shahini, in a thrilling final lap, went off in the final corner and nearly collected Visser as he rejoined the track, but ultimately finished second, with Visser close behind in third. Kumbi took fourth place once again, while Hellberg managed to pip van der Merwe to the finish line for fifth.

PositionNameTotal TimeGap
1Sean Nurse11:46.073
2Alex Shahini11:49.427+3.354
3Hannes Visser11:49.683+3.610
4Kumbi Mtshakazi12:03.976+17.903
5Bernie Hellberg12:14.348+28.275
6Jaco van der Merwe12:15.674+29.601

GR Cup Dealer Challenge (GR Yaris)

Qualifying: Devon Scott (GR Driving Academy) showed his intent by securing the fastest time in qualifying, ahead of Mario de Sousa (Motus Toyota) and Theo Brits (NMI Toyota Menlyn). Marius Claassen (Rola Toyota) completed the GR Cup Dealer Challenge grid.

PositionNameBest TimeGap
1Devon Scott1:25.078
2Mario de Sousa1:26.106+1.028
3Theo Brits1:27.218+2.140
4Marius Claassen1:28.079+3.001

Race 1: In Race 1, Scott proved his dominance once again, finishing not only as the top GR Cup Dealer Challenge driver but also mixing it up with the GR86 cars to secure third place overall. In terms of the GR Zone dealers, is was De Sousa who followed in second, while Brits finished in third place. Claassen brought up the rear of the Dealer Challenge group.

PositionNameTotal TimeGap
1Devon Scott11:42.779
2Mario de Sousa11:52.422+9.643
3Theo Brits11:59.169+16.390
4Marius Claassen12:19.844+37.065

Race 2: Scott stamped his authority on the championship with another resounding victory in Race 2, securing the GR Cup Dealer Challenge title in style. De Sousa finished second, with Brits rounding out the podium once again.

PositionNameTotal TimeGap
1Devon Scott11:43.322
2Mario de Sousa12:01.900+18.578
3Theo Brits12:02.466+19.144
4Marius Claassen12:24.374+41.052

GR86 Development Academy

Qualifying: In the GR86 Development Academy, it was Niko Zafiris who set the fastest qualifying time, narrowly ahead of Dylan Pragji. Championship leader Dawie van der Merwe qualified third, followed by Setshaba Mashigo, Ryan Naicker, and Kent Swartz.

PositionNameBest TimeGap
1Niko Zafiris1:25.864
2Dylan Pragji1:25.865+0.001
3Dawie van der Merwe1:25.898+0.033
4Setshaba Mashigo1:26.150+0.286
5Ryan Naicker1:26.205+0.341
6Kent Swartz1:26.683+0.819

Race 1: Dawie van der Merwe wasted no time in Race 1, passing both Zafiris and Pragji to take the win, further cementing his dominance in the category. Zafiris finished second, with Pragji in third. Kent Swartz and Mashigo followed, with Naicker recovering from an early spin to finish the race.

PositionNameTotal TimeGap
1Dawie van der Merwe11:38.349
2Niko Zafiris11:38.541+0.192
3Dylan Pragji11:45.791+7.442
4Kent Swartz11:46.163+7.814
5Setshaba Mashigo11:47.309+8.960
6Ryan Naicker12:10.233+31.884

Race 2: Race 2 once again belonged to van der Merwe, who clinched the GR86 Development Academy title with another flawless performance. Ryan Naicker improved to finish second, with Mashigo completing the podium. Kent Swartz finished in fourth place, while Pragji and Zafiris had to settle for fifth and sixth, respectively.

PositionNameTotal TimeGap
1Dawie van der Merwe11:35.743
2Ryan Naicker11:39.607+3.864
3Setshaba Mashigo11:39.808+4.065
4Kent Swartz11:39.964+4.221
5Dylan Pragji12:01.469+25.726
6Niko Zafiris10:10.503-1 lap

As the 2024 GR Cup heads to its final round at Zwartkops Raceway near Pretoria on 19 October, all eyes will be on the drivers behind the newly crowned champions, as they push to secure the best possible results in the individual championships

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