TOYOTA CROWNS THREE NEW CHAMPIONS IN A SENSATIONAL FINALE TO SEASON 7 OF THE VIOS CHALLENGE

Two Wheels Media

January 7, 2025
5:19 pm

SHAH ALAM, 7 JANUARY 2025 – Season 7 of Toyota GAZOO
Racing’s Vios Challenge crowned three new champions after a nail-biting race
weekend which rewarded the race winners and overall champions with more than
RM300,000 in prize monies.

Drama defined the finale as the showdown at the
Petronas Sepang International Circuit on Saturday and Sunday (4-5 Jan 2025) was
nothing short of spectacular, with competitors in the Super Sporting, Sporting
and Rookie Classes pushing to the very end to keep their championship hopes
alive.

In the Super
Sporting Class for professionals, young driver Naquib Azlan of Axle Sports
claimed the overall championship title in a closely-contested battle dethroning
defending champion and Prima Pearl TD Racing’s Mitchell Cheah who came in 2^nd
overall. Overall 3^rd position went to Telagamas Toyota’s Freddie
Ang. That achievement earned him RM80,000 with Cheah and Ang
taking home RM60,000 and RM40,000 respectively. It was Naquib’s third
successive overall championship win having clinched the overall titles in the
Rookie Class and Sporting Class in 2021 and 2022 respectively. He finished
second in 2023.

A drama-filled Race 2 saw Naquib and Cheah locked in a
heatedly-contested 20–lap race which eventually resulted in the former retiring
from the race and Cheah being handed down a 10-position penalty due to a
sporting infringement.

The race was won by Laser Motor Racing’s Amer Harris
who took the chequered flag with an unassailable lead ahead of Toyotsu Toyota’s
William Ho andPS
Otomobile’s Bradley Benedict who
finished 2^nd and 3^rd respectively.

“I came into the championship missing the first round
as a replacement for another driver who is unable to make it for the remaining
rounds of the season and prior to that I had no seat time in the new car.
Adaption was the key to define the whole season and we did our best to set-up
the car as best we could for the entire season,” said Amer.

“The car handles well from the get go well compared to
the previous generation Vios and as with any new race car, I am quite certain
that it will be even further enhanced for the seasons moving forward.”

In Race 2 of the Sporting
Class PCM Group Racing Team’s Kenneth Koh shot into the lead ahead of Kulim
Topwheels’ Dato Ken Foo and BAE Racing by ES Yang’s Elson Lew in the opening
stages of the 20-lap race.

Foo climbed 4 places at the start from 5^th
on the grid in pursuit of Koh, but the lead grew consistently with the latter
taking the chequered flag 5.6 seconds ahead, and Thailand driver Panithan
Rakpaibulsombut representing RUK
Team Nexzter PMC 52 finishing third. Biggest gainer on the grid was Race
Rally KL’s Shafiq Samsudin who climbed 10 positions to finish 4^th.

With the overall championship title involving Koh, Lew
and Shafiq, victory in Race 2 was enough to propel Koh to win the overall
championship title in the Sporting Class earning him a promotion to compete in
the Super Sporting Class in the upcoming Season 8 and bagging RM60,000. Shafiq
finished 2^nd overall with RM40,000 while Lew was placed 3^rd
overall winning RM20,000.

“Finally…This is my seventh consecutive season
competing in the Vios Challenge. The car and the set-up was just so good this
weekend and winning the race is a great way to finish the season,” said Koh.

“Moving up to Super Sporting Class in Season 8 seems
rather daunting but I’ll just have to try to be as good as the other drivers.
You have to start somewhere. With the new generation Vios everyone is still
trying to adapt and to find the sweet spot. It’s definitely a level up from the
previous season vehicle with different gearbox, suspension, brakes and others
so adapting to these enhancements has been challenging. I must thank everyone
who has helped me through my journey from Season 1 to Season 7.”

Rookie Class Driver for Season 7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Malaysia Vios Challenge.

The Rookie
Class meanwhile, crowned 18-year-old competitive karter Adam Mikail as
champion, with recreational karter Brandon Ho finishing 2^nd and
simulator racer Raja Amirul Syauqat emerging 3^rd overall.

“The target that I set for myself coming into the
Rookie Class was to win it and I extremely grateful that I have been able to
achieve just that. It has been an incredibly challenging six rounds of racing
in Season 7 and despite having prior racing experience both in karting and
saloon cars, the competition was intense from the very beginning with every
rookie being super competitive,” said Adam adding that he now looks forward to
earning a seat to drive in the Sporting Class in Season 8.

“As a driver I’ve learnt so much and made tremendous
progress throughout the season. Toyota’s Young Talent Development Program has
not only given me the opportunity to compete in one of Malaysia’s best one-make
series but it has contributed significantly to my growth as a driver. The
program and the exposure provide a truly comprehensive insight, developing an
individual’s skills on the track as well as aptitude.”

Organized by UMW Toyota Motor, the Vios Challenge has firmly
established itself as the premier one-make saloon car race series in Malaysia
emphasizing on driving skills and race craft as competitors take to the track
in identically-prepared cars. This creates a level playing field and close
quarters racing where even a driver as young as 16 years old has the chance of
becoming a race winner and overall champion, as it was proven in Season 4 in
2020. Season 7 also gave a huge profile boost to the series when it attracted
the participation of international drivers from Thailand, India and Singapore
for the very first time.

UMW Toyota Motor remains as the only local car
distributor/manufacturer to organize such as series and continues its
investments in Malaysian motorsports since 2017. This has also expanded to the
virtual world with the organizing of the GR GT Cup simulator racing series
since 2017, and the introduction of the Young talent Development Program in
2021 to provide young karters and simulator racers with an avenue to transition
into saloon car racing.

Season 7 which began in
August last year, consisted of three rounds and six individual races offering a
combined RM630,000 in prize monies. The event was broadcast live over UMW
Toyota Motor’s social media platforms with more than 5 million viewers tuned
into the race weekend finale.

For more information and to stay tuned to
announcements on Season 8, log on to www.toyota.com.my/en/tgrmalaysia.

RACE RESULTS – DAY 2

SUPER SPORTING CLASS