UMW Toyota Motor has announced the 7th successive season of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Festival, Vios Challenge one-make series which will consist of three rounds and a total of six individual races being held at the Petronas Sepang International Circuit beginning in August.
Lucrative prize pool for Racers (RM630,000)
The series returns with a total of RM630,000 in prize monies, made even more vibrant with the introduction of the latest generation Toyota Vios race car and will feature three classes of racing: Sporting Class for amateurs and gentlemen racers; Super Sporting Class for professionals; and the TGR Rookie Class.
Continuous support to grassroot racing – 6 Races across 3 weekends
The opening round of the Toyota Vios Challenge from 9-11 August will run concurrently with the Malaysia Championship Series (MCS). Round 2 meanwhile, is scheduled for 27-29 September 2024 and signals the return of the independently organized Toyota GAZOO Racing Festival. The race, however, will be broadcasted live to fans, race enthusiasts and members of the public.
| TOYOTA GR FESTIVAL, VIOS CHALLENGE SEASON 7 CALENDAR | ||||
| ROUND | DATE | ACTIVITIES | VENUE | LIVE |
| ROUND 1 | 9-11 August 2024 | Race rounds – Closed to public | Petronas Sepang International Circuit | Live broadcast Facebook: facebook.com/tgrmy Instagram: instagram.com/tgrmalaysia Youtube: youtube.com/@tgrmalaysia |
| ROUND 2 | 27-29 September 2024 | Petronas Sepang International Circuit | ||
| ROUND 3 | 3-5 January 2025 | Grand Finale – Open to public with entertainment, family and recreational attractions | Petronas Sepang International Circuit | |
“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 Toyota GR Young Talent Development Program for young drivers who are transitioning from karting and simulator racing to saloon car racing. 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,” said UMW Toyota Motor President Datuk Ravindran K.
“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.”
The most watched racing series with almost 30 Million online viewers to date
The Toyota Vios Challenge has firmly established itself as a race series intensely competitive for both amateurs and professional teams and drivers, and becoming a strong proving ground for young and emerging talent. 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. This has been largely due to its format which will remain unchanged as a one-make series, to preserve fair play, provide a level playing field and to ensure that the racing remains as close as ever, emphasizing instead on skill, race craft and technical preparation.
Attracting local and international racing superstars while continuing young racers development with TGR Rookie program (Batch 4)
Returning to the Super Sporting Class in Season 7 includes former three-time overall champion Tengku Djan Ley Tengku Mahaleel; 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.
The newest batch of TGR Rookies who will be joining the Toyota Vios Challenge Season 7 will be the 4th intake of young drivers who have graduated from the GAZOO Racing Young Talent Development Program. A total of 24 young drivers – including the latest six drivers who will race in the Rookie Class – have since graduated from the program which is aimed at giving talented drivers the opportunity to step into saloon car racing. The Rookie drivers includes: 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.
New Gen Vios Race Cars – Faster and more exciting racing.
The highlight of Season 7 will undoubtedly be racing the latest generation Toyota Vios. The new Vios continues to be powered by a 1.5-litre engine with a five-speed manual transmission but is enhanced with a more rigid and stable all-new platform as well as revised aerodynamics.
These chassis enhancements make the new race car more planted in corners, more responsive to driver input and capable of even faster lap times. The introduction of the new model also underlines UMW Toyota Motor’s commitment to the Toyota Vios Challenge series for the next 4 seasons.
Drivin On 
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