Vios Challenge is on again this weekend at Sepang

The 7^th season of the Vios Challenge, part of the annual TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Festival in Malaysia, will start off this weekend with the first of 3 rounds to be PETRONAS Sepang International Circuit.

The popular one-make series returns with a total of RM630,000 in prize monies to be won over 6 individual races during the season which will conclude in early January 2025.

Unlike earlier years when some rounds were held on special street circuits in other parts of the country, all three rounds will be held at the F1-class circuit near KLIA. The first round starts this weekend (August 9 – 11) will run concurrently with the Malaysia Championship Series (MCS), so there will be more than just the two Vios Challenge races to watch.

The second round on September 27 – 29 will not be open to the public. However, fans can watch all the action online. For the third round on January 3 – 5, the public is invited and there will be many activities for the Grand Finale.

All cars taking part in the Vios Challenge are identical in specifications and output to make it more on driver skill, racecraft, preparation and strategy than just car performance.

New racing Vios
The new season will also see the debut of the new generation of Vios racing cars. While continuing to be powered by the proven 1.5-litre engine, the new cars are all fitted with 5-speed manual transmissions.

Driving dynamics have been enhanced with a more rigid and stable all-new platform as well as revised aerodynamics. These chassis enhancements make the new racing Vios more planted in corners, more responsive to driver input and capable of even quicker lap times.

The introduction of this new model confirms UMW Toyota Motor’s commitment to the Vios Challenge series for the next 4 seasons.

Continued contribution to motorsports
“Our involvement from the very beginning has been with the objective of contributing to Malaysian motorsports and we have embarked on numerous initiatives over the past six seasons. This included bringing motorsports to the masses (via street racing circuits); making the series more accessible to participants in the form of retaining the one-make race format; establishing the series as the most lucrative racing event in Malaysia; and introducing the GAZOO Racing Young Talent Development Program for young drivers who are transitioning from karting and simulator racing to saloon car racing,”  said UMW Toyota Motor President, Datuk Ravindran K.

He said that Toyota is equally pleased that the series has immensely contributed towards producing a new generation of talented drivers who have since progressed to the higher classes of racing both domestically and abroad.

“Moving forward, this contribution will now be extended even further in the form of elevating the status and profile of the series. The first is by incorporating it into the national Malaysia Championship Series (MCS). Secondly, we also have the privilege of now accepting international drivers to join the series and Season 7 will see the participation of drivers from Singapore, Thailand and India for the very first time,” said Datuk Ravindran.

3 racing classes, no celebrities
For this season, there will be 3 classes of racing: Sporting Class for amateurs and gentlemen racers; Super Sporting Class for professionals; and the TGR Rookie Class. The special race for celebrities is no longer part of the event this year so no more participation by Shukri Yahaya, Janna Nick, Wany Hasrita, Nabila Razali, Khai Bahar and other local celebrities.

Returning to the Super Sporting Class in Season 7 will be former 3-time overall champion Tengku Djan Ley; defending class champion Mitchell Cheah; and big guns in Malaysian racing who include Eddie Lew, William Ho, Tom Goh and Freddie Ang.

The Super Sporting Class will also see the participation of young drivers Putera Adam, brothers Naquib and Nabil Azlan – all three of whom were former Rookie Class drivers and champions – Bradley Benedict, Ady Rahimy, Aman Nagdev from India.

The Sporting Class meanwhile will see familiar names like Dato’ Dr Ken Foo, Kenneth Koh, Dannies Ng, Shafiq Samsudin, Ricky Tan and Lim Chun Beng returning to the grid. Also joining will be young drivers Elson Lew who was last year’s Rookie Class runner-up, Amirul Haikal, Timothy Yeo and Ashen Arumugan. Competing in the Toyota Vios Challenge for the first time will also be Panithan Rakpaibulsombut from Thailand and Singaporean Daniel Inosuke Ooi.

4th year of Rookies program
The newest batch of Rookies who have graduated from the GAZOO Racing Young Talent Development Program will also take part. The fourth intake of the program had 24 young drivers – including the latest 6 drivers who will race in the Rookie Class. These drivers have undergone intensive training by veteran racers to prepare them for saloon car racing and are provided cars to use.

The Rookie drivers are 22-year-old recreational karter Brandon Ho; 18-year-old pro karter Adam Mikail; 22-year-old recreational karter Amirul Afiq; 17-year-old pro karter Audrey Leong; 21-year-old simulator racer Raja Amirul (talent discovered from Toyota GR GT Cup Campus Tour 2023); and 19-year-old recreational karter Kingston Tan.

Over 30 million viewers
The Vios Challenge has firmly established itself as a race series intensely competitive for both amateurs and professional teams and drivers. It is today the most watched local racing series with more almost 30 million spectators (online via live broadcast and on-ground) since it was first introduced in 2017.

For the latest news on the Vios Challenge, visit www.toyota.com.my/en/tgrmalaysia. If you cannot make it to the circuit at Sepang, you can also watch the races live as they will be broadcast on the following TOYOT GAZOO Racing Malaysia social media channels:

FACEBOOK – facebook.com/tgrmy | YOUTUBE – youtube.com/@tgrmalaysia
INSTAGRAM – instagram.com/tgrmalaysia

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