All new 3rd generation Vios Challenge race car levels the playing field once more after six seasons of racing as drivers race towards optimizing its full potential
Round 1 of season 7 of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Vios Challenge had all the ingredients of a dramatic race weekend which saw the debut of the all-new 3rd generation Toyota Vios, racers being exposed to both dry and wet weather racing conditions, sibling rivalry, the participation of international drivers for the very first time, and the rise of young driver dominance.
Held at the 5.543km Petronas Sepang International Circuit, the race weekend concluded with the top 10 drivers going home with combined prize monies amounting to RM110,000 reaffirming the one-make production series as the most lucrative motorsports event in the country. Two days of racing, both in extreme heat and in wet weather conditions, rewarded the top five racers in each of the Super Sporting Class (for professional and seeded drivers) and Sporting Class (for amateurs) with 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.
Round 1 saw a total of 33 cars taking to the grid for a 1-hour format race that also saw the debut of the
latest third generation Toyota Vios. It was a baptism of fire and 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 made up of graduates of the
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Young Driver Development Program to help develop talented young 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, taking home a whopping RM16,000 for his efforts, having won
Race 1 and finishing 2nd in Race 2.
The top honors 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. He had finished 4th in Race 1 on Saturday.
“As you know it’s an entirely new car this season and it’ll take some time for everyone to become
acclimatized to its characteristics and drive to the vehicle’s full potential. Of course the goal will be to
defend my overall championship but we still have a long season ahead.”
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 3rd in Race 1, to redeem 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 places Koh in the lead of the overall championship and as Round 1
overall champion, he bagged 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. His journey to the season opening race had been an incredibly challenging one having damaged his all-new Toyota Vios on the day of the vehicle 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.” 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 clinching 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 10th overall from a field of 33 cars on the grid. “Due to yesterday’s race win I had to carry an extra 20kg weight ballast in the car and the reverse grid format mean 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 unfolded I found myself mixing it up with the Sporting Class drivers,” said Adam.
Season 7 of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Vios Challenge also sees the participation of three other Rookie
Class drivers: 17-year-old pro karter Audrey Leong; 21-year-old simulator racer Raja Amirul; and 19-year old recreational karter Kingston Tan.
In total, season 7 of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Vios Challenge is putting up a total of RM630,000 in
prize monies. The series is also one of the most watched local racing series with more almost 30 million
online viewers via live broadcast and 220,000 on-ground spectators since it was first introduced in 2017.
Round 2 of the series will be held from 27-29 September 2024 at the Petronas Sepang International
Circuit.
