Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival Season 6 Takes Off This Weekend

The first round of Season 6 of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival and Vios Challenge will be held this weekend at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC). This latest season sees drivers competing in various classes for a prize pool  close to RM1 million.

In the GR Vios Challenge, racing will be divided into four classes, including the Promotional Class for local celebrities that will see half the grid made up of new faces. They will include professional ten pin bowler and Ratu Ten Pin drama actress Syaidatul Afifah; actor, television host and Hot FM radio presenter Imran Aqil; actor and host Ezzrin Loy; actor, host and television personality Hefsy Sahad; and actress and model Reen Rahim. Rejoining the grid will be former Promotional Class overall champion and actor Shukri Yahaya; actor Zizan Razak; actress and television personality Ahirine Ahirudin; and television personality Ain Edruce.


In the Rookie class, which is brought back for the third year running, there are six new faces joining the grid. They include include 16-year-old and 2019 Rotax Max Malaysia junior champion Ariff Azmi; 16-year-old racing driver and simulator racer Iman Danish; 17-year-old karter Azriel Azhar; 18-year-old simulator racer Nazmir Azlan; and 19-year-old simulator racers and racing enthusiasts Yazid Razak and Elson Lew.

Joining them will certainly be Iman who has several podium and top 10 finishes to his credit which includes coming in 3rd in the Super 1600 Class, 2nd in the Tiner Production Class, and 4th in the Saga Cup in the MSF Racing Series. 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, who will include Nabil Azlan (Season 5 Rookie Class champion) driving for Axle Sports, 23 Motors’ Abdul Miqail, Crestmax Motorsports’s Bradley Benedict Anthony, Distinctive Model’s Aaron Haikal, Super Evergreen Motorsport’s Muhammad Amirul Haikal, and Todak Wheelstar Motorsport’s Muhammad Alif Shawqi.


The top run Super Sporting class will see the overall champion receive RM70,000, and the star-studded field includes teenage driver Hayden Haikal alongside Naquib Azlan who was also last year’s Sporting Class champion. Meanwhile, in pursuit of his fourth Class title will be Tengku Djan Ley Tengku Mahaleel who will be leading Prima Pearl TD Racing’s two-car entry alongside Mitchell Cheah. Big names to look out for include the Laser Motor Racing pair of Eddie Lew and Putera Adam, Royal 47 Racing’s Brendan Paul Anthony, Telagamas Toyota’s Freddie Ang, Toyotsu Racing’s William Ho, and S&D Tama Motorsports’ Goh Chok Tong.

This year, members of the public and race enthusiasts are also invited to Round 1 of the Toyota GAZOO Racing Festival and GR Vios Challenge. All of the action and stage performances by local celebrities will be broadcast live on Toyota's website (www.toyota.com.my) and on the Toyota Malaysia and Toyota Gazoo Racing Malaysia Facebook pages. “Racing has had a very profound impact on the Toyota brand globally and domestically. Embarking On our 6th season of the Toyota GAZOO Racing Festival, we remain committed in our mission to make an impactful contribution to Malaysian motorsports,” said UMW Toyota Motor President, Datuk Ravindran K.

“TOYOTA also firmly believes the Malaysian motorsports eco-system can evolve to become very dynamic. By eco-system I mean the development of future talent and the creation of a more vibrant motorsports industry," he added.