TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Vios Challenge Round 1 (Race 2)

The opening round 1 of Season 7 of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Vios Challenge had all the ingredients of a dramatic race weekend, with racers being exposed to both dry and wet weather racing conditions on both days. Drivers from neighbouring countries also took part for the first time, while the dominance of the new generation of younger drivers showed increasing competitiveness.

Over 2 days of racing, the top 5 racers in the Super Sporting Class (for professional and seeded drivers) and Sporting Class (for amateurs) took home a total of RM60,000 and RM50,000, respectively. The results of the Race 1 and Race 2 were combined to give drivers an overall position for Round 1.

A total of 33 cars (all classes) started off from the grid at the PETRONAS Sepang International Circuit for a 1-hour race. Among the cars were the new third generation racing version of the Vios with improved performance.

It was a challenging test for both the new car and drivers who, in previous seasons, had only been subjected to short sprint races. The series also included the participation of six new young drivers in the Rookie Class – graduates of the GAZOO Racing Young Driver Development Program started by UMW Toyota Motor to help develop talented young Malaysian drivers who are transitioning from simulator racing and karting to saloon car racing.

In the Super Sporting Class for professional and seeded drivers, Axle Sports driver Naquib Azlan was declared the overall winner for Round 1, having won Race 1 and finishing 2^nd in Race 2. The top honours for Race 2, however, went to Prima Pearl TD Racing’s Mitchell Cheah who took the chequered flag more than 11 seconds ahead of Naquib and the rest of the field, while Telagamas Toyota’s Freddie Ang came in third.

“I had a great race today. Coming into race 2 today, I was very confident because of the conditions (a wet race) and I knew what I had to do but it took a little longer than expected to pull away due to the intense battle for track positions. We started off with an almost fully wet track due to the earlier rain and as the race developed, conditions became better and I slowly built the lead the head of the pack,” said Cheah who is also the defending Super Sporting Class champion from 2023.

“As you know it’s an entirely new car this season, so it’ll take some time for everyone to become acclimatized to its characteristics and drive to the car’s full potential. Of course, the goal will be to defend my overall championship but we still have a long season ahead,” he added.

In the Sporting Class for amateur drivers, PCM Group Racing Team’s Kenneth Koh made his way back on to the winner’s podium after finishing 3^rd in Race 1, redeeming himself with a win in Race 2. In second place was BAE Racing by ES Yang’s Teo Hong Zhou, while in third was Race Rally KL’s Shafiq Samsudin who was also Race 1’s winner.

The two results combined currently place Koh in the lead of the overall championship. As the overall champion of Round 1, he collected a total of RM14,000 for his efforts over the race weekend.

“It was a very tough race due to the slippery conditions but as the track dried up I managed to pull away from the field. Overall, the car felt good and I am just very happy with how the race weekend panned out,” said Koh.

Koh’s journey to the season-opening race had been an incredibly challenging one, having damaged his all-new Vios on the day of the car handover and pre-season testing with an unfortunate front end collision at the hands of another driver that left the team less than a month to complete the repairs.

“What happened was extremely unfortunate. Thankfully, the car was not as badly damaged as it looked and all the credit certainly goes to the team for getting it ready in time for me to make it to Round 1 this weekend,” Koh said.

Meanwhile, the battle of the young drivers in the Rookie Class produced identical results as per Race 1 with 18-year old pro karter Adam Mikail taking his second successive race win ahead of recreational karters Brandon Ho and Amirul Afiq. Adam’s performance far exceeded expectations as a newcomer when he even finished ahead of the Sporting Class winners in 10^th overall.

“Due to the Race 1 win, I had to carry an extra 20-kg weight ballast in the car and the reverse grid format meant that I had to also start from the back of the grid. I was a bit concerned whether I would be able to pass the front cars but I had good pace coming into the race and, to my surprise, as the race progressed,  I found myself mixing it up with the Sporting Class drivers!” said Adam.

Round 2 of the Vios Challenge will be held from September 27 – 29 2024 at the same venue. It will not be open to the public; however, fans can watch all the action online as there will be live broadcasts on both days. For the third round on January 3 – 5, the public is invited and there will be many activities for the Grand Finale.

For updates on the one-makes series, visit www.toyota.com.my/en/tgrmalaysia.

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Vios Challenge Round 1 (Race 1)