Season 6 of Toyota Gazoo Racing Malaysia Off An Electrifying Start

For 5 years, Toyota Gazoo Racing has brought thrill-packed racing to Malaysians while encouraging the public to get as close to the action as possible. And now with TGR Season 6 in full swing, there’s plenty more on-track shock and awe to be savoured.

This year, Toyota Gazoo Racing Malaysia had kicked off at the Sepang International Circuit on the weekend between 18th and 19th February following the fiery evening of five GR Sport and GR cars launching into the Toyota Malaysia lineup where the new blood of the racing series also took the limelight in front of the cheering crowd and press.

The two-day race weekend of the opening round certainly delivered the thrills and wheel-to-wheel dogfights with race incidents and post-race penalties adding to the drama, watched by over 3.5 million viewers over live streaming.

“At the start of this 6th season of racing, you can already see a very large pool of young drivers beginning to exert their dominance especially in the Super Sporting and Sporting Classes for professionals and amateur racers respectively. This is a very positive development for the sport,” said UMW Toyota Motor President Datuk Ravindran K.

Toyota Malaysia has truly cemented itself as a champion of driving enthusiasts by being the only mass market manufacturer to offer such a comprehensive range of analogue driving machines. Add to the long-running Gazoo Racing series meant to fan the flames of grassroots motorsport and the fostering of local racing talent.

The 2023 season consists of the GR Vios Challenge, GR Vios Sprint Cup as well as the GR Vios Enduro Cup and S1K with a grid of new faces, young drivers hungry for white knuckle racing rivalries, and close to RM1 million in prize monies and incentives.

It builds on Season 5’s unique combination of motor-racing spectacle of grit, twisted metal, and screaming engines with the excitement of a carnival with activities, stage performances and attractions for fans and the public alike, confidently seeking to exceed its 15 million total spectator benchmark this time around.

With more than 40 drivers forming the grid in the GR Vios Challenge including defending Super Sporting Class champion Hayden Haikal representing Axle Sports alongside teammate last year’s Sporting Class champion Naquib Azlan.

Other big names to watch out for include former series champion Tengku Djan Ley and Mitchell Cheah for Prima Pearl TD Racing, the Laser Motor Racing pair of Eddie Lew and Putera Adam, Royal 47 Racing’s Brendan Paul Anthony, Telagamas Toyota’s Freddie Ang, Toyotsu Racing’s William Ho, and S&D Tama Motorsports’ Goh Chok Tong.

Of course, the star-studded Promotional Class returns to the GR Vios Challenge series with half a grid’s worth of new faces including professional ten pin bowler and Ratu Ten Pin drama actress Syaidatul Afifah; actor, television host and Hot FM radio presenter Imran Aqil; actor and host Ezzrin Loy; actor, host and television personality Hefsy Sahad; and actress and model Reen Rahim.

Overall champion and actor Shukri Yahaya also rejoins the driver roster for Season 6, as does actor Zizan Razak and actress and TV personalities Ahirine Ahirudin and Ain Edruce.

Continuing UMW Toyota’s efforts to empower local racers, the 6th season also sees a continuation of the GAZOO Racing Young Talent Development Program that began in 2020, with 6 NEW rookies joining the program in addition to the existing 12 drivers.

The fresh blood on the grid includes 16-year-old and 2019 Rotax Max Malaysia junior champion Ariff Azmi; 16-year-old racing driver and simulator racer Iman Danish; 17-year-old karter Azriel Azhar; 18-year-old simulator racer Nazmir Azlan (the third sibling to join the GR Vios Challenge); and 19-year-old simulator racers and racing enthusiasts Yazid Razak and Elson Lew.

UMWT invites everyone to join in the fun and action both on and off the track at the Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival, happening next from the 2nd to 4th June at the Sepang International Circuit and again from September 29th and October 1st.

Additionally, there will be Round 1 (5-7 May) and Round 2 (23-25 June) of the Vios Sprint Cup and a mammoth 9-hour Vios Enduro Cup happening on the 26th of November. Everything will also be streamed live on Toyota’s webiste at www.toyota.com.my so there’s no excuse to miss out on a moment of the action!