Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival Season 6 Wraps Up On A High

On-circuit excitement at the Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival Season 6 Finale held last weekend at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) was supplied by the door-to-door racing action of the Vios Challenge.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival saw its sixth season culminate with a thrilling finale. No less than 45 racers in the Vios Challenge series took to the asphalt in the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) last weekend and battled out for winning glory.

Though the festival opened to the public across a two-day span on Saturday and Sunday, racing action in the Vios Challenge actually began on Friday with on-track practice sessions for all three of its competition classes – pro-level Super Sporting class, semi-pro Sporting class, and the celebrity-led Promotional class.

Adding to the excitement was the debut of the new Vios Challenge racecar based on the latest-gen (AC100) Vios production model. A handful of these were raced by the celebrities competing in the Promotional Class.

As reported prior, the weekend’s excitement was amplified in the celebrity-led Promotional Class with the debut of the new Vios Challenge racecar. Based on the latest fourth generation (AC100) Toyota Vios production model, it will soon be widely-adopted by drivers and teams for next year’s Season 7 running.

Before that, the current crop of celebrity racers were privileged to sample said new racecar first, and many of whom  lauded the new car’s improved speed and handling abilities despite the fact that the early batch of cars they raced didn’t have a manual gearbox yet.

Celebrities racing in the Promotional Class proved a huge draw for fans. Coming out on top as the class' champion was renowned petrolhead and comedian Zizan Razak.

Besides the debut of the new Vios Challenge racecar, the Promotional class battle amongst the top celebrity racers kept fans on the edge of their seats in both Saturday’s Race 1 and Sunday’s Race 2. Winning on both outings was actor-singer Ezzrin Loy who edged past fierce rival Zizan Razak for the top spot.

Though comedian and renowned petrolhead Zizan was outraced by Ezzrin on both occasions, his second place finishes across both races saw him clinch enough points to be crowned as the Promotional Class champion this season.

In the pro-led Super Sporting and semi-pro Sporting classes, the racing action was intense and thrilling too.

In the semi-pro Sporting class, 23 Motors driver Abdul Miqail ruled the weekend’s races, but it was Crestmax Motorsports and its driver Bradley Anthony who reigned as class champions. This was an incredible fear by Anthony who, despite missing the podium on Saturday, did score a win on Sunday.

In the pro-led Super Sporting class, it saw a welcoming return to form for Malaysia’s renowned ‘Prince of Drift’ Tengku Djan Ley who won on Saturday and placed second on Sunday. Despite his best efforts, Djan wasn’t crowned as class champion, with the title instead going to his teammate Mitchell Cheah.

Trophies and prize monies, the latter in the sum of up to RM70,000, were awarded to this year's champions. Notably amongst them were drivers Mitchell Cheah (above, left) who reigned as Super Sporting Class champion, as well as Bradley Anthony (above, right) who took the the semi-pro Sporting Class title.

Also contested in the Super Sporting Class was the title of Best Rookie. Of the six drivers vying for this, it was Ariff Azmi who earned the title, and he did so in commanding manner by leading his field across both races all weekend too.

Marking the end of this year’s racing competition, both trophies and prize monies, the latter in handsome sums of up RM70,000, were handed out to both the weekend’s top three winners across both races, as well as to the top three drivers in the standings.

Sunday's running also saw local hip hop maestro Joe Flizzow and his 16 Baris artiste troupe headlining the live music stage. Joining them on-stage too was Zizan, fresh from winning his title.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival Season 6 Finale then culminated on high by treating fans in attendance with a special live concert on Sunday afternoon headlined by local hip hop maestro Joe Flizzow and his ensemble of artistes known as 16 Baris.

Said concert was one of two held over the two-day event, the first being headlined by local veteran alt-rock legends OAG on Saturday afternoon. Keeping fans entertained too were the vendors of the hip Tempatan Fest that ran concurrently on the same grounds at SIC with the Season Finale race event.

UMW Toyota Motor President Datuk Ravindran K. (left) receiving a special recognition award from MAM President Tan Sri Mokhzani over the weekend.

Notably, for its consistent efforts at both promoting and developing local motorsports talents, industry, and interest through the Gazoo Racing Festival, UMW Toyota Motor were even awarded by the Motorsports Association of Malaysia (MAM).

To put simply, even after six seasons, Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival Malaysia continues to be a staple bed for homegrown racing talents to shine and keep enthralling fans further with close, door-to-door racing action. Indeed, we can expect more once the series resumes for its seventh season come next year.