The opening round of Season 5 of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival and Vios Challenge is set to take place this weekend (March 19-20, 2022) at the Sepang International Circuit, which will see a field of drivers compete in different classes for a prize pool of more than half a million ringgit.
As before, the one-make race series will be divided into four classes, including the Promotional Class for local celebrities like actor Shukri Yahaya, who was Season 4 champion and is looking to fend off last year’s runner-up and actor Zizan Razak; television host Nabil Ahmad; actress Janna Nick; singers Wany Hasrita, Nabila Razali and Khai Bahar; TV personality Ahirine Ahiruddin; and actress and presenter Ain Edruce who makes a return after taking a break to welcome her first born child.
In the Rookie class, which is brought back for the second year running, there are six new faces joining the grid. They include Adele Liew, the first female in the Rookie class, and karter Ashen Shanmuganathan – the fathers of both are also competing in the Vios Challenge.
Joining them are sim racers Muhammad Hamdany Abdul Hamid and Nabil Azlan – the latter’s brother, Naquib, was crowned last year’s Rookie class champion, along with karter Sharique Zulqarnain as well as karter and single-seater driver Muizz Musyaffa.
Moving on to the fiercely contested Sporting class, the overall champion here will take home RM50,000, and there’s plenty of drivers on the grid, including R&R Sport Speed Garage’s Shasha Shafie, the only female driver and a new addition in the class.
Others are Super Evergreen Motorsports’ Muhamad Roni Risman and 23 Motors’ Abdul Miqail, while top drivers to keep an eye on in the class include Crestmax Motorsports’ Bradley Benedict Anthony; Panglima City Racing’s Kenneth Koh; Carroof Motorsports’ Mirza Syahmi Mahzan; S&D Tama’s Tom Goh; Kulim Topwheels’s Dato Dr Ken Foo; and 20 Racing Team’s Haziq Zairel Oh.
The top run Super Sporting class will see the overall champion receive RM70,000, and the star-studded field includes reigning and triple-crowned Super Sporting class champion Tengku Djan Ley, who returns to drive for Prima Pearl Auto (not for this weekend though as he is unwell and will be replace by his brother, Tengku Ezan). Rather than a solo entry, the team is also fielding international touring car racing driver Mitchell Cheah in a two-car assault on track.
Other teams with two cars on the grid is Laser Motor Racing, represented by Mark Darwin as well as Eddie Liew, while the M7 Japan Project Team will have international touring and GT car driver Mohamed Fariqe Hairuman and Amer Harris, the latter graduating from the very first Vios Challenge Rookie Class last season.
Amer joins two other young drivers who are under the age of 20 competing in the Super Sporting Class, namely former Sporting Class champion Hayden Haikal and international single-seater driver Alister Yoong, who is the son of ex-Formula 1 driver Alex Yoong – both will drive for Axle Motorsports Driving a third entry for Axle Motorsports will be former Super Sporting Class champion Boy Wong.
The competitive list of drivers in the class also includes Telagamas Toyota’s Freddie Ang; former Sporting Class champion Brendan Paul Anthony who will be driving for Royal47 Racing; Toyotsu Racing’s William Ho; 23 Motors’ Ady Rahimy; and Distinctive Model’s Clement Yeo who has earned an automatic promotion by virtue of becoming last year’s Sporting Class champion.
Due to safety measures, the TGR Festival remains closed to the public to protect them against the pandemic but racing fans will still be able to catch all the action happening this weekend via live streaming – all the links you need are here.
Fans also stand a chance to win prizes through the Gazoo Racing Dream Team TGR Fantasy platform, where participants choose three drives from each of the four classes, and their team will accumulate or lose points based on the real racing results throughout the three rounds in Season 5. The player with the highest number of points will be declared the winner at the end of each round and there are grand prizes up for grabs at the end of the season.
“The [TGR] Festival and the Vios Challenge continues to evolve in line with our aspirations to contribute to the development of Malaysian motorsports. From a series that attracts professionals, gentlemen drivers and local celebrities, it has today grown into one of the most ideal, accessible and affordable platforms to hone the skills and experience of young drivers coming up the ranks in motorsports,” said, Ravindran Kurusamy, president of UMW Toyota Motor.
“And this year, we want enthusiasts and fans to become even more invested in the series by introducing a fantasy game that will enable them to better relate to their favourite drivers on the track,” he added.
“The Vios Challenge, in many ways than one, is growing into what we would like to call ‘the people’s race’, and in four seasons, we have kept to this objective by not only promoting motorsports to the masses both on ground and online, but maintaining a one-make race format that makes the event attractive to all levels of racers,” Ravindran continued.
Once again, Round 1 of the Vios Challenge takes place this weekend, after which it will be followed by Round 2 (June 25-26, 2022) and Round 3 (September 24-25, 2022). Two out of the three rounds will be held at the Sepang International Circuit, with one street race planned.
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