New, familiar faces to compete in Toyota Gazoo Racing eSPorts GT Championship-Asia

MANILA: Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) will send a mix of new and familiar names to Thailand next month for the Toyota Gazoo Racing eSPorts GT Championship-Asia.

The newly-created roster — which consists of Victor Ancheta, Enzo Ison, and Matthew Ang — were the top three winners in the sixth season of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippines eSports GT Championship held last October 12 at Ayala Malls Manila Bay.

Here are some bits of information about the three e-sport drivers.

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The racers

Despite being a newcomer in the racing series, Ancheta was hailed as the champion in the latest Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippines eSports GT Championship — bested 39 other hopefuls that were able to join the quarter-, semi-, national finals.

However, before bagging the top overall, the 25-year-old competitor from Baguio City placed third overall among more than 250 participants that took part in the qualifiers and consistently placed in the top ranks in all his races.

“I feel happy that I won the championship, and I feel honored to be one of the drivers to be representing the Philippines. I am looking forward to going up against Asia's fastest drivers and see where I stand up against them,” Ancheta said.

Trailing the 2025 season victor was Enzo Ison, who previously donned the Philippine flag in the Asia Finals.

The fifth season runner-up, Ison posed as a strong contender as he immediately ranked first in the qualifying round and showed steady performance on his way to the finals that allowed him to secure the second-place finish.

“It feels great to be on the podium and that I will have the chance to represent the country once again in Thailand next month. I’m looking forward to another fun experience and hopefully get a great result for Team Philippines at the Asia Finals!” shared Ison.

Meanwhile, Ang — Asia Finals participant for the 2023 Toyota GR GT Cup — completed the Thailand-bound Team Philippines. Before taking the final spot on the podium, Ang got second overall during the qualifiers.

“I felt disappointed since I genuinely felt I could become champion this year, but now I feel grateful and empowered to perform well in the Asia Finals. I’m looking forward to representing my country again and more importantly, seeing my old competitors from 2023 and seeing how much I improved in two years,” shared Ang.

Per TMP, the local event drew more than 20,000 spectators — as sim racers battled it out for the honor of representing the Philippines at the Asia Finals as well as exciting prizes.

For the quarterfinals, the top 40 sim racers from the qualifiers raced using a 2020 Toyota GR Yaris High Performance in three race heats on Dragon Tail Gardens. The starting grid of the first race heat was decided by a qualifying time trial (QTT), while the second race heat put racers in a reverse grid based on their finishing order in the first race. For the third race heat, the QTT results of the first race heat were re-used to set the grid.

Ison was at the top during the quarterfinals, followed by Ang, and Jether Miole.

During the semis, the top 20 racers drove on the virtual tracks using a Toyota GR Supra Race Car 19 Gr. 4 on Mount Panorama, then at the Redbull Ring. The third race for the semis was done at the Daytona International Speedway. To make the race even more interesting, tire wear and fuel consumption were enabled to test the racers’ race craft.

Amid the challenges, Miole crossed the checkered flag first in the semifinals — with Ang and Ison on second and third, respectively.

Before the finals, TGR Philippines eSports GT Championship conducted a surprise Wild Card Round — calling back eight racers who did not make it to the top 10 as well as previous champions Luis Moreno and Russel Reyes for a chance to take the 11th seat in the national finals.

For the national final round, 11 racers went head-to-head in three races, each in a different car and track. The first race was using a 2018 Toyota Supra Racing Concept on Kyoto Driving Park-Yamagiwa; the second on board a Toyota GR Yaris on Colorado Springs; and last, with a Toyota GR010 Hybrid on the technical Circuit de Spa Francorchamps in dynamic weather conditions.

Score multipliers have been applied to the second and third races, where tire wear and fuel consumption were also enabled.

Here are the results of the three races for the national finals:

National Finals Race 1
Position	Name
First	Enzo Ison
Second	Victor Ancheta
Third	Jether Miole

 

National Finals Race 2
Position	Name
First	Matthew Ang
Second	Jether Miole
Third	Enzo Ison

 

National finals Race 3
Position	Name
First	Michael Velasquez
Second	Victor Ancheta
Third	Corwin Mercado

After rounding up the points, Ancheta was hailed as the TGR Philippines eSports GT Championship 2025 champion with 72 points, Ison in second place with 67.5 points, and Matthew Ang covered the third spot with 61.5 points.

Special awards were also given to Ancheta for Crowd Favorite, Miole for Best Overtake, Ison for Smooth Operator, and Ang for the Pole Position Award.

Also read:

PH team takes 4th spot at Toyota GR GT Cup Asia 2024

PH bet secures slot in Toyota GR GT Cup 2023 global finals

Toyota PH presents contingent in upcoming GR GT Cup in Asia Finals

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