SHAH ALAM: After a successful debut in the 2021 edition of the Sepang 1000KM, Toyota is now gunning for its Vios model to win Malaysia’s most prestigious endurance race.
This year’s Sepang 1000KM which will again be contested over nine grueling hours will be held from Nov 17-20 at the 5.534km Sepang International Circuit.
UMW Toyota Motor and Gazoo Racing Malaysia will be officially represented in the MTC and SP2 Classes of the Sepang 1000KM.
Two racers will spearhead the MTC Class to fight for the overall victory – an achievement it so nearly came close to achieving in 2021.
The Sepang 1000KM will also see a total of 15 SP2 Class Toyotas competing in the Gazoo Racing Vios Enduro Cup that is exclusive to and open to all generations of the model competing in the Vios Challenge and Vios Sprint Cup race series.
UMW Toyota Motor President Ravindran K said endurance racing is the very pinnacle of motor racing.
“The Vios, as well as models like the Yaris, have successfully demonstrated in the 2021 edition of the Sepang 1000KM that it has both the reliability and outright performance to become winners.
“The running of the Gazoo Racing Vios Enduro Cup further illustrate the capabilities of the standard-production Vios in this ultimate test, keeping in mind that the same cars have already endured six races in the Vios Challenge and another four one-hour races in the Vios Sprint Cup this year,” he said.
Toyota had finished third and fourth in the premier MTC Class of the race in 2021.
The pair of Hayden Haikal and Timothy Yeo had crossed the finish line in first place overall and three laps ahead of their nearest rival in the Yaris but were later dealt a penalty reclassifying them to fourth place overall and third in the MTC Class.
The second Toyota pair of Boy Wong and Dannies Ng in the Vios meanwhile, concluded a strong result in fourth place in the MTC Class and sixth overall.
Three Toyotas had also occupied the top five front positions from a field of 39 entries on the starting grid for the race.
Ravindran said the Gazoo Racing Vios Enduro Cup would serve as a fitting finale for what has been an extremely successful and memorable season of racing for Toyota.
It recently concluded Season 5 of the Vios Challenge premier one-make race series and the running of the inaugural Gazoo Racing Vios Sprint Cup which has been incorporated into the national Malaysia Championship Series (MCS).
“Expanding beyond the Vios Challenge is in tandem with UMW Toyota Motor’s aspiration of establishing a bigger footprint and to make an impactful contribution to Malaysian motorsports.
“It ties in with our objective to continually build ever better products,” he said.
While the Vios Challenge and Vios Sprint Cup are known for its intensely close and competitive short races, the Gazoo Racing Vios Enduro Cup will put teams, drivers and cars to the ultimate test over a distance of 1,000km.
The Gazoo Racing Vios Enduro Cup will be putting up a total of RM30,000 in prize monies with the overall champion taking home RM10,000!
The first runner-up will win RM8,000 while the third, fourth and fifth place winners will take home RM6,000, RM4,000 and RM2,000 respectively.
Limited slots are available in the Gazoo Racing Vios Enduro Cup, and to register participation or for more details, racers and teams can contact UMW Toyota Motor’s Race Management representative Janet at 016-367 3300.
Keyword: Team Toyota gunning for win at Sepang 1000KM race this weekend