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.
