Jeffrey Kruger is set to start his third Global Touring Cars (GTC) SupaCup season next weekend (March 4-5) at Killarney International Raceway, despite uncertainty regarding his future in the national championship.
With his car prepared by his father, John Kruger, the Centurion-based driver will be backed by Streamsure Combustion and The Design Hut. His available budget will, however, only allow him to participate in the season opener.
“It’s an all or nothing gamble that we are taking here to travel to the most expensive race of the season, but it is one that we are hoping will pay off” says Kruger. “Some will argue that a weekend in Cape Town can equal two local rounds, but our approach is to find ourselves in contention for the title from an early point in the season. Therefore, if we do manage to put a full season together, we will be in the hunt straight away and won’t need to play catch up.”
Being in the hunt for the title from an early stage is something that Kruger certainly can do. Since the inaugural season of the championship in 2020, he has been one of the regular frontrunners. Just under three-quarters of his 22 starts has seen him finish on the podium, including seven victories. On the three occasions that he took the Dunlop Pole Position, he also went on to win. He holds the lap record at four of the seven circuits he has competed at. In his debut season, he finished as runner-up by a single point in the championship with 2021 seeing him ending the season in third.
While there are a host of young, talented drivers who will be aiming for a win at the season opener, Kruger’s experience in the series will be of benefit with him being in a good position to establish himself as the early points leader. His quest will also be aided by both his immediate rivals in the first two seasons, Brad Liebenberg and Jonathan Mogotsi, having progressed to the GTC Championship.
“Regardless of what the rest of the season looks like, my aim will be what it always is. Go out there, do my utmost and make sure I do it at the front of the field. That’s the part that I can do. For the rest, I’m thankful to announce that Motorsport Fanatix has also come on board as a media service provider and as for the GTC series, well their efforts in providing brand exposure with a high media value are simply unrivalled.”
The GTC SupaCup season opener will consist of two races and will form part of the Extreme Festival tour at Killarney International Raceway. Limited spectator tickets are available, and the race will also be streamed live on the GTC Facebook page.
Issued by Motorsport Fanatix on behalf of Jeffrey Kruger
