SHAHALAM, 27 SEPTEMBER 2024 – Round 2 of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Vios Challenge is expected to set the stage for an epic battle of the Rookies and young drivers, who continues to dominate the one-make series even as it reaches the midway point of Season 7.
Now into its seventh year, the rise of young drivers as competing in the series has been phenomenal, consolidating the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Vios Challenge as becoming THE one-make series to participate in. The series’ strict format as a one-make production race utilizes an identically-race prepared new generation Toyota Vios powered by a 1.5-litre engine with a five-speed manual transmission. Instead of outright power, drivers are tested to the limit of their driving abilities and race craft.
In the Rookie Class which is made up of graduates of the GAZOO Racing Young Talent Development Program – now into its fourth year – young drivers are scouted from a diverse background and trained to transition into saloon car racing. This season sees another six new candidates vying to jump start their racing careers. Many of those who have graduated have successfully moved on to competing in the higher classes of racing in the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Vios Challenge as well as in the national series and races abroad.
For Rookie Class championship leader Adam Mikail, time between Rounds 1 and 2 has been invested on enhancing his physical fitness.
“I have been working on my fitness recently, specifically focusing on my endurance and stamina. I have been working out with a multipurpose gym at home and have also been going on jogs on a daily basis. I’m also a bit more careful with what I eat,” said the 18-year-old pro karter.
With back to back race wins in Round 1, Adam is gunning for another two race wins in succession to consolidate his chances for the championship.
“I’m aiming to have another race winning weekend if possible and continue a streak to win the championship.”
Meanwhile, with two consecutive second place finishes, 22-year-old recreational karter Brandon Ho is at the moment the only individual capable of closing the gap to Adam Mikail.
“After Round 1, my focus has been to identify what I could’ve done better or differently. I spent quite some time reviewing onboard footages and taking notes while seeking advice from others,” said Ho.
“Round 1 definitely taught me a lot especially with 30 over cars on the grid for my debut race. My main goal for this upcoming Round 2 is to ensure that I can drive under high pressure situations comfortably. I am definitely aiming for the win to close the gap on to Adam Mikail for the overall driver’s championship.”
Third in the standings in the Rookie Class is recreational karter Amirul Afiq who is eager to move up the podium.
“I’ve been busy with karting and sim racing to keep my focus. With more racing I’m also training to improve my fitness level,” said the 22-year-old.
“’I’m really looking forward to stay on the podium spot even though I know it’s not going to be an easy task by any means considering the company I have the likes of Raja Amirul, Kingston Tan and Audrey Leong who are more than likely to give their everything in Round 2 for redemption…but as they say, tougher races tend to bring out the best driver!”
Still to make in impact in the Rookie Class are 17-year-old pro karter Audrey Leong; 21-year-old simulator racer Raja Amirul (talent discovered from Toyot GR GT Cup Campus Tour 2023) ; and 19-year-old recreational karter Kingston Tan.
In the Super Sporting Class for pro drivers, the standings currently place Axle Sports’ Naquib Azlan and Prima Pearl TD Racing’s Mitchell Cheah as the hot favourites with one race win each in Round 1. Round 2 will also see two other young drivers, Amer Harris and Hayden Haikal rejoining the Class representing Laser Motor Racing and TD Racing respectively.
The Sporting Class for amateurs meanwhile, has seen the emergence of Race Rally KL’s Shafiq Shamsudin and PCM Group Racing Team’s Kenneth Koh as favourites, with both drivers securing a race win and third place finish in Round 1.
Round 2 will see a total of 33 drivers lining up for the three individual classes of racing including drivers from Thailand, Singapore and India. Unlike Round 1 which utilized the entire 5.543km Petronas Sepang International Circuit, Round 2 will only run the shorter 2.706km North Track over 20 laps of racing.In total, drivers competing in season 7 of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Vios Challenge are vying for RM630,000 in prize monies making the series the most lucrative in Malaysia.
Tune in to this weekend’s fiery racing action via live stream at these platforms:
FACEBOOK– facebook.com/tgrmy;
YOUTUBE youtube.com/@tgrmalaysia ;
INSTAGRAM – instagram.com/tgrmalaysia.
For more information, log on to www.toyota.com.my/en/tgrmalaysia.
