In this opening entry to the diary of an aspiring racer, Kyle Kock faces his first-ever race in the opening round of the GR Cup.
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Have you ever wanted to be a racing driver? Apart from occasional moments of glory in the Gran Turismo daily races, or seasonal manufacturer’s cup, I would never have entertained such a thought. Realistically, I should have started karting at a pre-adolescent age or, in more recent years, possibly get noticed as a sim-racing talent – both of which are achingly absent on my resumé. But those dormant racing dreams have now been answered in the shape of a seat in this year’s Toyota GR Cup competition. Over the course of the year, I’ll take readers through my journey from the couch to being competitive (I hope) on track. The aim is to make steady, progressive – but hopefully still competitively-paced – improvement throughout the season. More importantly, if there’s anyone among CAR’s readership who is toying with the idea of starting their own racing career, may this serve as a how-to guide.
This is a one-make series comprising Toyota’s hot-blooded GR cars in order to showcase the talents of the model range. On a separate grid in front of the track are seven development drivers with a karting background in the GR86. Then there are five Toyota dealers piloting Corolla GRs thrown into the mix. Two of the GR Academy instructors will share the last GR Corolla throughout the season. Lastly, for the media challenge are the same six Yaris GR manuals that debuted in the GR Cup’s maiden season in 2022 – all piloted by journalists with limited racing experience.
One of the best pieces of advice I received was just before the driver shakedown at Gazoo Racing South Africa’s headquarters at Zwartkops. Basically, as soon as the practice sessions begin, it’s best to be the one who’s at the end of the pit lane, ready to head out. In the same breath, maximise time spent on the circuit and come in as late as possible. That way, you spend more time with the car in that week’s race environment. This is a driver exercise that the GR academy instructors set the rookie media challenge contenders at the shakedown. The idea is to line up next to one another – mirror-to-mirror and wheel-to-wheel – and then keep your car in that formation all the way around the circuit. This helps alleviate the fear of getting too close to another car and helps you to concentrate on your chosen line
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All the cars are on the same rubber. In this case Dunlop Direzza 03G semi-slicks in 225/40 R18 profile. Designed for competition and track day use, they need to be warmed up before they serve up proper grip levels. This requires at least one lap of hard braking at reasonable speed and big movements on the steering wheel, crossing and locking your arms if you must. As we headed out on the shakedown for the third practice session, I’d forgotten that the tyres were cold and tried to take a corner at speed. My lesson manifested itself in a heart-stopping moment of massive oversteer in the middle of third gear.
Another piece of sage advice just before the first round at Killarney. With more time under my belt at Killarney than the other drivers, it was whispered to me to be mindful of who was behind me and whereabouts on the circuit we were. The sharper edge of the field would look to the CAR magazine #88 Yaris for brake markers and turn-in points, and I wasn’t going to give anything away before my first-ever race.
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The media contingent would have to pay special attention to this one, as nobody wants to be involved in a needless collision that will take out their own car at any point in the season, let alone someone else’s car. If you see a small mistake, be consistent and wait until the driver in front of you makes an even bigger mistake before you chance a gap.
Only after the shakedown at Zwartkops did I realise the importance of this. The aim for practice at Killarney would be to resist the temptation to go hell-for-leather from the get-go and instead build up the pace gradually on the timesheets, saving the hottest laps for qualifying.
Wearing an OMP race suit and Bell helmet, with boots and gloves, in a car with the aircon turned off and during rounds where the mercury soars, would be new to me. Ideally, you should aim to train outside of the car in conditions that match the car’s cabin in race conditions – switching off that cooling air-con on hot days (much to my passengers’ chagrin!). As your heart rate spikes and your body fatigues, it becomes easier to make a mental mistake during the race, so aim to be as fit as possible by replacing couch time on racing simulators with cardio-enhancing exercises such as running and swimming.
As rudimentary as this may sound, it pays to familiarise yourself with your gear well ahead of getting into the car; whether it’s your first time behind the wheel or pre-race. At the shakedown, we needed to wear a HANS (head and neck support) device and our helmets for the final practice. I had been avoiding this and then fumbled around with them while the rest of my field was already on the track, losing out on valuable track time. This also means suiting up well ahead of any session in a specific order, because the last thing you want is to have your gloves on the facia – and therefore out of reach – while you’re strapped in and ready to drive out of the pitlane (yes, this really happened).
Find the full feature in the May 2025 issue of CAR Magazine.
