PETALING JAYA: The two-day Toyota Gazoo Racing (GR) Velocity Esports Championship, which was held recently at the UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd (UMWT) headquarters in Shah Alam, garnered more than one million online views over the weekend.
The Championship brought together an elite group of 20 online racers who competed in a semi-final on Saturday (26 September 2020), with the top 10 fastest drivers advancing to the grand final on Sunday (27 September 2020).
Team mates and friends Taj Izrin Aiman Taj Madira, Mior Muhammad Hafiz and Muhammad Iqbal Ahmad Suji were the big winners at the Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship grand final when they clinched the top three positions to win almost RM40,000 in cash prizes.
The trio also will represent Malaysia at Toyota’s Regional eSports competition.
“Virtual racing is an entirely different discipline. It requires a lot of practice and seat time. Just like real racing requires you set-up a vehicle, in virtual racing you have to adapt to the steering and pedal techniques, and at the same time you have to adopt a strategy and manage your tyre wear as well as fuel during a race,” said 22-year-old Taj who is an avid motorsports enthusiast and is only into his first year of competitive virtual racing.
Meanwhile, in a special 17-lap exhibition race involving celebrities competing in the Toyota Vios Challenge, musician Shawn Lee proved that he was indeed a force to be reckoned with both on and off the racing circuit.
Lee, a two-time champion in the Promotional Class of the Toyota Vios Challenge, led the virtual 17-lap race at the 4.5km Fuji International Speedway from start to finish, to win ahead of GR Malaysia’s Chief Motorsports Officer, Akio Takeyama, and celebrity gamer Daddy Hood.
Piloting a Toyota GR Supra Racing RZ race car, singer Wany Hasrita finished fourth, followed by another celebrity gamer Soloz, and singer Khai Bahar in sixth place.
Comedian Nabil Ahmad crossed the finish line in seventh position, followed by a third celebrity gamer Penjahat while singer Nabila Razali completed the race in ninth position.
President of UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd, Ravindran K. also underlined that virtual racing will be another strong pillar for Toyota to bring motorsports to the masses.
“Moving forward, the Gazoo Racing brand will continue to spearhead and expand Toyota’s presence in Malaysian motorsports with a number of new initiatives to be rolled out soon,” said Ravindran.
