Van der Merwe Makes Strides at Kyalami SupaCup Round

Dawie van der Merwe showed spirit and resolve at the second round of the South African Touring Cars (SATC) SupaCup Championship, held at the legendary Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in Johannesburg as part of the Extreme Festival, presented by Coca-Cola over this past weekend.

Representing Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa (TGRSA), Dawie piloted the only Toyota on the SupaCup grid. In a class dominated by purpose-built Volkswagen Polos tailored for the SATC regulations, the Starlet has faced a steep learning curve since it’s debut in late 2023. Despite this, Dawie and his team took on the challenge head-on, which marked his first competitive outing in the car around the Kyalamu circuit.

Although familiar with the Kyalami layout, the weekend presented a fresh test for Dawie as the Starlet battled some issues, most notably with braking performance. Despite the setback, the team made solid progress throughout the weekend. After qualifying tenth, Dawie knew he needed to gain ground early and keep the pressure on his rivals to earn a solid result.

He did just that in Race 1, climbing the order to cross the line in an impressive sixth place amid fierce competition. In Race 2, he maintained his pace and consistency to notch up a seventh-place finish. The combined result saw him narrowly miss out on a top-five overall classification by just 0.168 seconds.

“It was a weekend full of understanding, and while we had some challenges with the brakes, I’m proud of what we achieved,” said Dawie. “The Starlet has a lot of potential, and I’m confident we’ll come back even stronger at Aldo Scribante.”

The championship next heads to Gqeberha’s Aldo Scribante Racetrack for Round 3, set for 9–10 May.