SEPANG, 29 SEPTEMBER 2024 – It was both literally and metaphorically a thunderstorm on track in day 2 of racing in Round 2 of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Vios Challenge which came in form of heavy rain that delayed the start of the race and the emergence and dominance of young driver Elson Lew.

In the Sporting Class for amateurs, former Rookie Class driver Lew concluded Round 2 with dominant double race wins. Driving for BAE Racing by ES Yang, Lew finished the 20-lap race around the 2.706km North Track at the Petronas Sepang International Circuit 4.8 seconds ahead of PCM Group Racing Team’s Kenneth Koh and 16-year-old Thai driver Panithan Rakpaibulsombut representing RUK Team Nexzter PMC 52.

The race began with Race Rally KL’s Shafiq Samsudin capitalizing on an early mistake by race leader Hiewa Racing Team’s Choo Yong Choon to storm into the lead with a 2.3 second advantage. Shafiq’s lead however was short lived when he was passed by Lew (who had started 6^th) in the 8^th lap and later had to defend against a charging Koh and Rakpaibulsombut. His race however, came to an abrupt end due to mechanical issues.

“Coming into Round 2, I had a very good feeling. I was a bit more confident and I was fastest in both unofficial and official practices as well as qualifying. It’s certainly the best weekend of racing I’ve had,” said the 21-year-old Lew.

“Race 2’s strategy was just to push hard and once I had the lead, to extend the gap as much as I could. As a driver I try to be consistent and stay focused and I guess that was what won me the races this weekend.”

 The start of race 2 had been delayed for 30 minutes due to a light thunderstorm and after the all clear was given to resume by Race Control, participants in the Super Sporting (for professionals and seeded drivers) and Rookie Class (for young drivers) started the 20-lap race behind the safety car.

With a reverse grid format, Super Sporting Class Race 1’s winner Amer Harris started from 6^th position, followed by Freddie Ang in 5^th, Mitchell Cheah in 4^th, Hayden Haikal in 3^rd, Naquib Azlan in 2^nd and Nabil Azlan at the head of the field.

With the safety car peeling off the track after three laps, Wheelcorp’s Nabil wasted no time to propel himself into the lead with Axle Sports’ Naquib losing track position to TD Racing’s Hayden for second place. A mistake by Nabil a lap later however, let Hayden, Prima Pearl TD Racing’s Cheah and Telagamas Toyota’s Ang through dropping Nabil to 4^th position.

As Hayden retained the lead, the battle for 2^nd intensified between Cheah and Ang for 6 laps, and after several attempts, Ang finally managed to pass the former in pursuit of the lead. The positions remained unchanged to the chequred flag with Hayden taking victory ahead of Ang in second, and Cheah in third place.

“I’d like to thank everyone who made this happen…it was basically trying to get used to the car over practice and qualifying. I struggled a bit in the first race but today’s wet weather conditions helped me a lot. I like the rain and hopefully I will be back for Round 3,” said Hayden who makes his return to the Vios Challenge after missing out on Round 1.

In the Rookie Class, the reverse format also placed Race 1’s winner Brandon Ho at the back of the field, followed by Amirul Afiq in 5^th, Raja Amirul Syauqat in 4^th. Audrey leong in 3^rd, Kingston Tan in 2^nd and Adam Mikail in 1^st position.

With two race wins from Round 1, Adam bolted at the restart to give himself an unassailable lead to win his third race in four races so far. Finishing second was Raja Amirul while in third position was Ho.

Now into its seventh year, the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Vios Challenge one-make series has seen a wave of young drivers rising to the top. This has been largely due to the series’ strict format as a one-make production race that 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.

A total of 33 drivers took to the grid for Round 2 of the Vios Challenge who included drivers from Thailand, Singapore and India.

For more information, log on to www.toyota.com.my/en/tgrmalaysia.

RESULTS: ROUND 2, RACE 2

SUPER SPORTING

1. Hayden Haikal TD Racing
2. Freddie Ang Telagamas Toyota
3. Mitchell Cheah Prima Pearl TD Racing

SPORTING

1. Elson Lew BAE Racing by ES Young
2. Kenneth Koh PCM Group Racing Team
3. Panithan Rakpaibulsombut RUK Team Nexzter PMC 52.

ROOKIE

1. Adam Mikail
2. Raja Amirul Syauqat
3. Brandon Ho