With the Movement Control Order (MCO) concluding in Selangor and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, motorsports springs back into action to jumpstart its activities that have been grounded to a halt for almost a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the first to announce the return of four-wheels racing was Toyota that is due to stage the opening round of its TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Festival and fourth season of the Vios Challenge racing series at the end of the month. Racing returns, albeit a new normal, but rather than the usual fanfare of a carnival for the masses, the event on 27 and 28 March 2021 at the Sepang International Circuit will be closed to the public for safety reasons, and instead live-streamed over the internet.

Racing must go on – that essentially underlines the level of commitment Toyota has invested in Malaysian motorsports since it first ventured into establishing what is today regarded as one of the best racing series locally. As the only domestic automotive brand to do so at this point in time, Toyota has made a very big footprint in Malaysian motorsports. It would have been easier to sit out the pandemic - but not for Toyota!

When Toyota first made its presence felt in Malaysian motorsports in 2017, their objectives were clear – to bring motorsports to the masses and at the same time to showcase the evolution of Toyota's new generation of vehicles, some of which are directly descendants of the GAZOO Racing motorsports programme globally. This was subsequently translated locally into the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Festival and Vios Challenge racing series.

On the surface, the Vios Challenge might not sound as impressive when you compare it to the likes of GT car racing, but it is precisely this simple and one-make race format that has made it the most competitive event locally, attracting both young drivers and newcomers, as well a pool of professional and elite racers. In fact, so unique is the Vios Challenge that it is the only series where a 16-year-old can be crowned the overall champion of the Sporting Class (for amateurs) last season. This season, the youngest driver registered to compete is a 14-year-old while the oldest competitor is at 51.

Creating a level playing field means everyone drives an identical race-prepared 1.5-litre Toyota Vios. You are only given the freedom to set-up the vehicle but all forms of modifications are strictly prohibited. And to make the prospect of joining the race even more attractive, Toyota will sell you a brand new race-prepared Vios at a partially-subsidized rate and a potential entrant can even purchase the car via loan facility. All cars are legally road registered and can later be converted back for road use minus the racing bits. This in itself is a huge investment for Toyota, considering 40-50 cars need to be built, but an approach that is commendable and simply brilliant as it makes racing more affordable to the masses, rather than having competitors buy a showroom car, and incur all the cost of having to strip it down and procure the necessary safety equipment and racing parts to make it competitive.

“When we first entertained the idea of venturing into Malaysian motorsports, we agreed that we must extend our involvement across all critical parameters. It was not just about organizing a race and hoping to attract competitors, but to do whatever we can to facilitate competitors. In this case, it not only involves building race-prepared vehicles, but ensuring that they have access to even consumables such as fuel and tyres, and even technical support at every race. We also provide all racers with a uniformed FIA-approved racing suit and a hospitality area for food and beverages,” said UMW Toyota Motor (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd Deputy Chairman Akio Takeyama who is also GAZOO Racing Malaysia’s Chief Motorsport Officer.

One of the most unique aspects of the Vios Challenge is that it started off as a street race, meaning a special and temporary street-circuits are built from the ground up in selected venues throughout Malaysia. This was done to serve two main objectives – to bring motorsports closer to fans and spectators, and to provide the racers with new tracks to compete on.

“This is an enormous undertaking because it involves the building a temporary circuit that is protected by rows of safety concrete barriers. Each of these concrete barriers weighs 4 tonnes and we use several hundreds of these at every race venue. The barriers also come at a cost because these safety items are built to FIA (the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) specifications and these are strict safety requirements that must be fulfilled,” Takeyama explained.

Just to put things into perspective, it took one month to construct a 1.65km street circuit at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Kuala Terengganu and an additional three weeks to dismantle after the race. One of the challenges also includes co-ordination between the relevant local authorities for the necessary approval permits, and mobilizing the manpower and logistics. Logistics is the biggest cost for Toyota to build the street circuit because only a small number of concrete barriers can be transported per vehicle due to its substantial weight.

From a competition perspective meanwhile, the concept of a street circuit provides new challenges for racers and imparts valuable knowledge and skills where extreme precision is required to prevent colliding into the concrete barriers. Another unseen contribution of the Vios Challenge has been the ability to create a vibrant motorsports industry eco-system where hundreds of the best technicians, mechanics, race engineers and support personnel are employed by the competing racers and teams.

The novel idea of having celebrities, from TV personalities to actresses and singers, race in the Vios Challenge meanwile, has also attracted huge numbers of new racing fans but more importantly contributed to building greater appreciation for motorsports in the general public. Not to mention that Toyota has also successfully transformed celebrities into bonafide racers!

This, combined with the festivities of an on-ground carnival, attracts even non-race fans to the events. While most of the action and competitive driving takes place on track, the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Festival provides the public with a myriad of activities that include an elaborate display of Toyota’s fleet of new vehicles, test drives, stage games, promotional activities, lucky draws, stage performances by celebrities and a Superfans Signing Session for a chance to mingle with the celebrity drivers. In short, something for everyone to enjoy.

Taking things a step further, Toyota also recently established the GAZOO Racing Young Talent Development Program aimed at nurturing young Malaysian racing talent who are transitioning from the sport of karting and sim-racing to saloon car racing. Six young racers between the ages of 14 and 20 will make their saloon car racing in the Vios Challenge debut this season.

Racers drafted into this programme were put through intensive training both on and off the track under the close guidance of instructors at the GAZOO Racing School and were required to satisfy a number of criteria before being certified competent to race. Instructors included ex-Formula 1 driver Alex Yoong, Malaysia’s drift king and also two-time Toyota Vios Champion Tengku Djan Ley, experienced touring car drives Mark Darwin and Adam Khalid, and the youngest ever Toyota Vios Challenge champion Hayden Haikal. The program also exposed the young racers to all areas critical to making individual a professional driver and included a strict fitness regime, mental skills and being taught in areas of communications, public relations, sponsorship and marketing among others.

“The GAZOO Racing philosophy embodies Toyota’s mission to build better products via its involvement in motorsports as much as it places an equal importance on developing people. This program embraces the same spirit, in the context of nurturing potential talent, and at the same time designed to give Malaysian motorsports a further boost. The goal was to not only provide young racers with path into saloon car racing but to ensure they are able to make this transition while retaining the level of competitiveness they have each demonstrated in their various fields,” said Takeyama.

Having said this, it is also no coincidence that Toyota is the first and only Malaysian automotive brand to also be associated with the fast-growing E-sports motor-racing activities. First held in 2018, the Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship has grown from grew to 400 virtual racers to more than 700 participants in 2020. The event had also successfully grown an online audience from 10,000 in 2018 more than 1 million viewers who tuned into the Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship live streamed online races in 2020.

Looking at the enormous effort Toyota has put into the Malaysian motorsports scene, what is certain is that the brand is committed and has the courage to back its ambition.

“Our commitment from the onset has been to establish an even bigger footprint in Malaysian motorsports and to give Malaysian motorsports a further boost. In three seasons we have been able to make an impactful difference by establishing the Vios Challenge. This brought racing to the people, and introduced a new series for celebrities, young drivers, amateurs and professionals. Recognizing the increasing interest in e-sports and the potential it has to uncover racing talent, we also decided that this was an important pillar for the development of motorsports. Naturally, the next thing to do moving forward was to introduce a program that would enable young racers, not only from karting but also e-sports and simulators, to progress to the higher levels of motor-racing,” said UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd President Ravindran K.

“GAZOO Racing and Toyota’s growing presence in Malaysian motorsports has collaboratively helped to develop both the sport and our brand as more dynamic, vibrant, emotive and exhilarating entities.”

This year’s Vios Challenge will consist of four classes of racing which includes the inaugural running of the Rookie Class featuring the six new graduates of the GAZOO Racing Young Talent Development Program; the Promotional Class which will field 10 top local celebrities; the Sporting Class for amateur drivers; and the Super Sporting Class for elite and professional drivers.

In addition, Vios Challenge racers also have the option of competing in the national racing series with the introduction of the GAZOO Racing Vios Sprint Cup which will see two rounds and a total of 4 races being held, and the GAZOO Racing Enduro Cup that will be run in conjunction with the annual Sepang 1000km Endurance Race.

Now that’s Malaysian motor-racing at its best!