Endurance racing gains a newcomer for the 4-hour event in Port Elizabeth this weekend with the pairing of Michael van Rooyen and Mandla Mdakane bringing their GTC spec Corolla to the party.

With the 2020 Global Touring Cars (GTC) championship indefinitely on hold due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Toyota Gazoo Racing SA GTC drivers, Michael van Rooyen and Mandla Mdakane, have entered the Endurance Race, which takes place at the Aldo Scribante racetrack in Port Elizabeth.

“We’ll be sharing the brand-new GTC Toyota Corolla, which was built for the 2020 season,” explains Van Rooyen. “The car will only be very slightly modified in order to allow us longer stints between refuels, and we’ll have to run tyres with a slightly harder compound to last the race, as our car isn’t geared for quick tyre changes.”

Despite the weight of the additional fuel, and the harder compound tyres, Van Rooyen and Mdakane hope to be highly competitive. The Toyota Gazoo Racing SA crew are entered in Class B of the series, which caters for turbo-charged cars with engines no bigger than 2,0-litres. However, the crew will be aiming to punch above their weight.

“The series features a large variety of classes, with purpose-built machines leading the charge. Even so, we hope to take the fight to the big guns, despite fielding a car that is built for an entirely different type of racing.”

The event, which will be run according to the latest Covid-19 regulations, as issued by Motorsport South Africa, will start with practice for all classes on Friday, August 14. Qualifying for the South African Endurance Series (SAES) Mandela Bay 500, as the race is officially known, will take place during the morning of Saturday, August 15, before the race gets under way at 13:20.

Fans can follow the SAES on social media, and links to updates and a live stream will be shared on Toyota Gazoo Racing SA’s social media channels.