After months of waiting, four-wheeled racing is finally back in action at Sepang Circuit. The
Toyota Gazoo Racing Vios Challenge has had three successful season, and we are now welcoming its fourth season with a record number of 44 entries.
Introducing a new class into the season, the Rookie category features the graduates of the Gazoo Racing Young Drivers Development Program. Although they shared the track at the same time as the Super Sporting class, they displayed top notch racing abilities that some of them were even catching up to the class in front!
Gazoo Racing Malaysia's Chief Motorsport Officer Akio Takeyama is very much “committed in continuing with this kind of activities moving forward and you can expect even better performance from Toyota, our vehicles, the activities we undertake and from all the drivers who continue to support in making the Vios Challenge a huge success”.
With encouraging words from the man himself, let's have a look on the racing that took place last weekend.
Promotional
Aside from assuming the role of the Chief Motorsport Officer, Akio also took part in the Promotional class, battling the likes of Zizan Razak and Ahirene Ahirudin. Despite being a first timer in the race series, both celebrities joined Akio onto the podium in the wet race.
Zizan took his first win with a huge lead to spare, with second place finisher Akio crossing the finish line almost 40 seconds afterwards. Ahirene's calm and controlled driving had given her the advantage of benefitting the misfortunes of Shukri, Nabil and Talitha, allowing her to finish in third place.
In Race 2, the bone dry track presented the racers a different challenge. Although starting from P6 due to a reverse grid and carrying an extra 20kg ballast, Zizan was in his element as he fought through the pack to secure yet another win for the weekend.
Stealing the win on the final laps from Khai Bahar, Ahirene once again surprised the crowd as she commandeered the Vios race car to yet again finish on the podium.
Promotional Class – Race 1
1. #15 Zizan Razak
2. #1 Akio Takeyama
3. #37 Ahirine Ahirudin
Promotional Class – Race 2
1. #15 Zizan Razak
2. #94 Khai Bahar
3. #37 Ahirine Ahirudin
Sporting
With 18 cars on the grid, the Sporting Class was the liveliest class in the weekend. The 20-lap wet race was jam packed with action from start to finish, and it was Adam Khalid who appeared on top to take the win.
Second place finisher Clement Yeo was chased hard by Eric Yong to the checkered flag, but he was able to defend his position to take home first runner-up. Kenneth Koh and Haji Sutan Mustaffa Salihin filled the remaining podium spots for Race 1.
The reverse grid format had definitely given an interesting to the race, with Haji Sutan now starting from the front row. Using the opportunity to its fullest, he took the win in Race 2, followed by Eric Yong in second place, and Adam Khalid in third.
Sporting Class – Race 1
1. #28 Adam Khalid
2. #98 Clement Yeo
3. #9 Eric Yong
4. #77 Kenneth Koh
5. #12 Haji Sutan Mustaffa Salihin
Sporting Class – Race 2
1. #12 Haji Sutan Mustaffa Salihin
2. #9 Eric Yong
3. #28 Adam Khalid
4. #10 Dato Ken Foo
5. #6 Shawn Lee
Rookie
This newly introduced category is a great addition to the sport, giving an opportunity for new talent to shine in the arena. After grabbing headlines by clocking the fastest time during the official practice session, Naquib Azlan continued to impress by winning the Rookie class in Race 1. He was joined by karter Amer Harris in second place, and fellow virtual racer Mika Hakimi in third.
Still fuelled by adrenaline from his first win, Naquib entered Race 2 with his eyes fixed on the prize. The lead in Race 2 changed multiple times between Jwan Hii, Amer and Mika throughout the 20-lap race. But as the checkered flag flutters, it was Naquib once again to emerged victorious in the showdown.
“At one moment I was down to last position and I had to climb my way back up with a damaged car so I really didn't know what to expect. I just kept my head down, kept my cool,” said the 20-year-old racer.
Coming in just 0.6 seconds behind Naquib was Jwan, followed by Amer in third.
Rookie Class – Race 1
1. #17 Naquib Azlan
2. #4 Amer Harris
3. #2 Mika Hakimi
Rookie Class – Race 2
1. #17 Naquib Azlan
2. #73 Jwan Hii
3. #4 Amer Harris
Super Sporting
If you would like to see the professionals slug it out in similar-specced cars, then Super Sporting is the class to be tuned in to. The 2021 grid looks very promising for the class, especially with familiar names like Mark Darwin, Syafiq Ali, Kenny Lee and Keifli Othman present.
Although starting the race from P3 on the grid, Tengku Djan was not going to let anyone stop him from reaching the top. He kept constant pressure to the cars upfront and made his move on the final laps of the race. Djan took the win with a very close Syafiq being just 0.3 seconds behind.
Young prodigy Hayden Haikal is the name to look after as he finished the race in third place, with Mark Darwin finishing fourth and Kenny in fifth.
With 20kgs of ballast now onboard and starting the race from P6, it was not going to be a walk in the park for Djan. It all seemed like Race 2 was going to Mark, but a safety car session had bunched the cars back together, giving Djan another shot for the win.
Djan quickly capitalized the situation and made full use of the dry track, overtaking the rivals and taking the win with more than three seconds to spare. Season 2's Super Sporting champion Boy Wong took home second place, with Mark finishing third.
Super Sporting Class – Race 1
1. #61 Tengku Djan
2. #7 Syafiq Ali
3. #81 Hayden Haikal
4. #63 Mark Darwin
5. #38 Kenny Lee
Super Sporting Class – Race 2
1. #61 Tengku Djan
2. #21 Boy Wong
3. #63 Mark Darwin
4. #81 Hayden Haikal
5. #7 Syafiq Ali
