A few twists and turns from the Southern most tip of Africa lies the sleepy town of Bredasdorp. Or so we thought. We recently attended the launch of the Toyota GR Starlet and here is our first account of the rip-snorting nipponese offering…
Enter Dealer Principal, Andries de Villiers and his manne of Rola Toyota Bredasdorp and former multiple award-winning South African National Rally champions, Guy Botterill and co-driver Simon Vacy-Lyle with their dedicated team. Load-shedding, riots and natural disasters have not deterred them from transforming the Maruti Suzuki-developed and built Toyota Starlet, usually a demure and well-behaved five-door hatchback, into a dirt-gobbling beast. According to a proud Botterill: “We can’t wait to get under way with the new car.” As with any new car, we expect some teething challenges, but we are confident that we have a solid machine that will be competitive from the very first stage.”
Biltong soup in hand and with palpable excitement the team pulled off the cover to reveal the two-litre turbo-charged petrol engined car which drives all four wheels via a sequential gearbox. The TOYOTA GAZOO RACING Starlet uses a Motec engine control unit to manage all the electronics, while Reiger dampers and Alcon brakes take care of the suspension and stopping power. Turn the ignition and rally-ready growl and burble fills the room. Fans scurry away from behind the car as the exhaust throws a flame or two. Racing enthusiasts, local farmers and dyed-in-the-wool Toyota loyalists and their boy/girl-racer offspring applaud.
Botterill and Vacy-Lyle will be taking on the opening two rounds at this weekend’s Cape Overberg Rally where they will be competing in Class NRC1. It will be GR Starlet’s first race, so the team is ready put their three years of blood, sweat and tears to the test and earn the respect that they so rightly deserve. The Cape Overberg Rally will take place on the fast and smooth roads in the area surrounding Bredasdorp and due to the high speeds that racers achieve compliments to the flowing roads and a local rallying history, the event has become known as ‘The Overberg Grand Prix’. Nogal. This weekend’s rally consists of eight stages on Friday, 20 May 2022; with seven more following on Saturday. The event will get under way with a 12 km-long stage that kicks off at 10:45 on Friday morning, before winding its way through the surrounding area and drawing to a close late on Saturday afternoon.
With the new GR Starlet, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing SA now competes in three race categories with fully local machines: The Corolla in Global Touring Cars (GTC), the GR Starlet in the NRC, and the mighty Dakar-winning Hilux, which is locally entered in the South African Rally-Raid Championship (SARRC).
But for Botterril it goes beyond building a GR RACING car. Thanks to the generous support of Toyota South Africa, award-winning rally drivers and dedicated support teams, they are building the future of South African rallying, starting with the GR Junior Academy. He mentions a 16-year old racer who’s been making waves locally. Watch this space.
Words: Thys de Beer
