Ready to rumble: Toyota Gazoo Racing Vios Cup returns this weekend

MANILA: Filipino motorsports fans are set to experience waku-doki (heart-pumping) thrill anew as Toyota Motor Philippines kicks off the 2021 Toyota Gazoo Racing Vios Cup this Saturday, July 10.

Now headlined by Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR), this year’s Vios Cup is expected to bring racing action to a wider audience as the event transforms to a more exciting online spectacle. While there will be no live audience at the Clark International Speedway to enforce safety protocols for the participants, viewers can still watch the event from anywhere through the Facebook pages of Toyota Motor Philippines and Toyota Gazoo Racing PH. Exciting games and interactive activities will also be conducted for the online viewers.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing Vios Cup will have two racing events: the Circuit Championship and the Autocross Challenge.

The Circuit Championship follows the traditional format, with drivers racing against each other in their corresponding classes. With the comeback of the Super Sporting Class in the Circuit Championship, seasoned local racing stars are also set to return to the Vios Cup track. One of them is 2019 Sporting Class Champion Red Diwa. Dealer teams Obengers Racing Team, R Racing, and JBT Racing will also be joining the race.

A total of 24 circuit racers will be participating in the first leg this weekend. Vios Cup veterans and celebrity racers Daniel Matsunaga, Troy Montero, and Fabio Ide will be joining the Promotional Class and racing against other entrants for the Circuit Championship.

In the Autocross Challenge, individual participants will be driving across a set obstacle course with the goal of finishing the track perfectly with the shortest possible lap. For this year, there will be a total of 24 competitors, 12 of which are media personalities including beauty queens Winwyn Marquez, Laura Lehmann, and Carla Lizardo, actors Alex Diaz, Arron Villaflor, John Manalo, Gab Lagman, and Jacq Yu, social media stars Lexi Mendiola, Jules Aquino, and Bianca Yao, and radio host Gino Quillamor.

Here is the schedule of activities for the first leg of the 2021 Toyota Gazoo Racing Vios Cup this weekend:

Toyota Gazoo Racing is the performance development arm of Toyota. It specializes in motorsports and production of ever-better cars, developed with the experience in the racing environment. The Vios Cup OMR (one-make race) represents TGR’s goals in crafting thrilling and reliable cars on and off the track.

The next legs of the race will happen on September 11 and November 6.

For more updates on the 2021 Toyota Gazoo Racing Vios Cup, log on to toyota.com.ph/gazoo.

The 2021 Toyota Gazoo Racing Vios Cup is made possible through Bridgestone and Petron in cooperation with Motul. Other sponsors include Brembo, Denso, AVT, 3M, OMP, Tuason Racing, and ROTA.

Photos from Toyota Philippines

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