Formula 1 fans will know that Audi will be taking part in the sport for the first time from the 2026 season. Audi will compete as a factory team together with its strategic partner, Sauber. Both parties are now busy developing the power unit for the F1 racing car at Audi’s Competence Centre Motorsport.
It will be some time before the first prototypes start to race around the test track but there is one place where you will be able to see the Audi F1 car in action – and even drive it – long before it starts its first F1 race. Thanks to EA Sports, the Audi F1 racing car will be available in the F1 22 racing game from Codemasters.
Simulator racing, or sim racing, has been around since the 1980s. Over 40 years, the virtual form of motorsport has grown in popularity and both the hardware and software have advanced tremendously. Today’s sim racing software is so realistic that even F1 drivers use them for training and they are used for championships with global participation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic when countries went into lockdown and people were confined to their homes, sim racing became even more popular. While real-world racing activities had to be stopped, sim racing took off as an alternative for motorsports lovers.
Almost anyone can get into sim racing. The basic requirements are a computer/game console, sim rig, large monitor and a fast internet connection. Players can compete against computer rivals or real human rivals around the world.
Besides the successful and popular Toyota Vios Challenge one-make series, UMW Toyota Motor has also been running another motorsport series – in the virtual world. This is the Toyota GR Velocity E-sports Championship which is in its fifth year in 2022. The most lucrative local online racing series in the country offering cash prizes, it is also the first and only E-sports motorsports-racing event promoted by a Malaysia car company.
First held in 2018, the number of participants in the Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship has grown exponentially, with the event drawing more than 1 million online spectators per season. “2022 marks the fifth season of not only the Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship, but also the Toyota GAZOO Racing Vios Challenge race series. It used to be that virtual racing and real racing are two very different entities, but we are honoured to have witnessed first-hand how both disciplines are contributing immensely towards producing Malaysia’s next generation of competitive racing drivers,” said UMW Toyota Motor President, Ravindran K.
He noted that the company has successfully pioneered the transition of 4 young simulator drivers into saloon car racing over the last 2 years. One of those drivers is Nabil Azlan, who finished third in last year’s GR Velocity Esports Championship and is today not only competing in saloon car racing but is also one of the championship frontrunners in the Rookie Class of the Vios Challenge race series.
Fighting for RM70,000 price purse
This weekend will see the final showdown of the season at the 1Utama Shopping Mall in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. With 11 races in 4 distinctive racing cars. this year’s winner will emerge from the 20 best online racers competing against each other for a total prize pool of RM70,000 and a ticket to represent Malaysia on the international arena.
The 20 racers have come up from an initial group of more than 500 contestants who had participated in a gruelling qualifying round held between July 9 and 17. This weekend’s Grand Finale will see 2 rounds of semi-final races being held to decide the top 10 drivers for the final.
The semi-finals will see racers battling it out on two circuits: the 4.265-km Brands Hatch and 3.8-km Goodwood circuits in the United Kingdom. The racers will drive the Toyota SFR Racing concept and a Toyota 86 Group B rally car, respectively.
For the final races, the battle will take place on Brazil’s 4.309-km Autodromo Interlagos behind the wheel of a 591 bhp Toyota GR Supra Racing Concept, and also a 1,000 bhp Toyota TS050 Hybrid at the 7.004-km Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.
Past winners return
Among the favourites returning this weekend are 2-time defending champion Taj Izrin Aiman Taj Madira, and the 2020 runner-up and third place winners Muhammad Iqbal Ahmad Suji and Mior Hafiz, as well as 2018 winner Muhammad Uzair. All 4 racers have had the opportunity to go on to the Regional Finals and will be hoping that 2022 will be the year which sees the first Malaysian driver going on to represent Asia in the Global Finals.
Exhibition races
There will also be 4 exhibition races during the weekend event, involving drivers and celebrities competing in the Toyota GAZOO Racing Vios Challenge. Members of the media, invited gamers and young drivers in the Vios Challenge rookie class will also be invited to join in.
The celebrity line-up includes actors Zizan Razak and Shukri Yahaya; television hosts Nabil Ahmad, Ain Edruce and Ahirine Ahirudin; and singers Khai Bahar, Wany Hasrita and Nabila Razali. The Vios Challenge rookies will be 4 young drivers – Adele Liew, Nabil Azlan, Sharique Zulqarnain and Muizz Musyaffa.
Besides watching the event live at 1Utama, the races will also be broadcast live on Astro’s eGG Channel, as well as the Toyota GAZOO Racing Malaysia Facebook and YouTube pages.
Mention ‘Prodrive’ and the first thing that will come to the minds of enthusiasts will be Subaru, rather than simulator The British motorsport and engineering company had a successful partnership with the Japanese carmaker and ran its team and developed the rallycars. Between 1990 and 2008, Prodrive helped the Subaru works team win three Drivers and three Manufacturers titles in the World Rally Championship (WRC).
With its 3 decades of motorsports involvement, Prodrive continues to provide its services to various carmakers and teams. It also offers engineering services to customers in the aerospace, marine and other sectors.
Now, the 38-year old company is also getting into e-sports (or digital motorsports, as the FIA refers to it), not as a competitor but providing hardware – a Racing Simulator. The new business came to the mind of David Richards, its Chairman, who saw more and more digital devices coming into homes.
“The last few years have seen an explosion in people taking up gaming and e-sports. But I wanted something that married technology with contemporary furniture, something you would be proud to have on display in your home like a grand piano, rather than tucked out of the way. I’m proud of the result, it’s something that would not look out of place in a gallery of contemporary art,” explained Richards.
Elaborating further, he said: “There was a very clear vision for this project – to create something technically stimulating and visually striking. Rather than taking the functional and well-trodden route of a car-like structure, we opted for something more abstract, contemporary and elegant. This design intrigues. You know it’s a simulator, but then you have to look again. The sweeping form and ‘piano black’ gloss finish take the Racing Simulator to a whole new place – it’s a piece of furniture that can elegantly sit in a living space.”
The racing simulator project began last year, when Richards approached design and engineering house CALLUM, which was closely involved with Prodrive, having helped design the company’s recent Hunter Dakar and Hypercar projects, to create some concepts.
CALLUM then designed what would be a ‘statement sculptural piece’, blending traditional and modern materials. The 3.3-metre long sculpted carbonfibre monocoque houses the seat, the screen, steering wheel, and pedal box. All the elements appear to float beneath a striking canopy of 16 layers of birch wood, encased in an elegant, lacquered gloss black finish.
The Prodrive Racing Simulator also has the performance to match, offering the driver a first-class simulator experience. Featuring a purpose-built system with a 12GB GeForce RTX graphics card and 16GB of memory at its heart, smooth graphics are rendered across the sweeping curved 49-inch high refresh rate display. Bowers & Wilkins PX7 wireless headphones are provided for a thoroughly immersive experience.
The Precision SIM steering wheel coupled with a Simcube steering motor allows for precise driving inputs, and the mechanical pedal box has been purposely selected to complete the realistic experience. Not only is this beautiful to look at from the outside but wraps around the driver to give such an immersive experience that it feels like being in the cockpit of a racing car. The Nogaro seat comes from Cobra Seats in the USA.
The Prodrive Racing Simulator is priced at £39,000 (about RM212,425) ex-factory. Potential purchasers can visit the Prodrive headquarters to try out the simulator. The company will also deliver it to the customer’s home, but this is presumably only for customers in the UK.
The annual Michelin Asia Cup Powered by Gran Turismo returns again for gamers from Thailand, Indonesia, and Australia, and Malaysians are also invited to compete for the opportunity to represent Malaysia. This is an e-racing competition that will use the ‘Gran Turismo’ platform on PlayStation 4 in Sport mode.
The Grand Prize Winner will win an all-expense paid trip to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime experience at the Michelin Passion Experience (MPE) event, held this year at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The First Runner-Up will receive a full set of tyres, while the Second Runner-Up will receive a fuel card worth more than RM1,500.
Registration for qualifying rounds runs are on from now until July 8, 2022. The first 500 registered participants in Malaysia will each receive exclusive Michelin merchandise. It is important to note that the Grand Prize Winner must have a driving license or a racing license (valid at least until September 9, 2022), to be eligible to claim the prize. Needless to say, he or she should also have a valid international passport.
The registered participants must submit their best time to the Qualifying Round from July 11 – 15, 2022. The top 6 participants with the fastest lap time will be announced on July 20, 2022 to represent Malaysia in the Semi-Finals, racing against the top 6 from 3 other participating countries. The total of 24 semi-finalists will be divided in two groups, each consisting of 12 gamers.
The 6 fastest gamers of each group will advance to the Final Round, which will be broadcast live on August 26, 2022 onwards, via social media channels. The top three winners will be officially announced on August 30, 2022.
Last year, Michelin Malaysia held its first-ever e-Racing competition – the Michelin Virtual Racing Series 2021 – as the brand’s first major endeavour into the local e-sports industry. This activity has seen increased activity in the past few years, especially when the pandemic-related Movement Control Order (MCO) limited outdoor motorsports events.
The event, which had prizes worth a total of RM70,000 (in cash, tyres and merchandise) was run in 3 phases in June and July. All the races were held on the Sardegna Road Track AII with participants using the BMW M6 GT3 M Power equipped with Michelin racing medium tyres.
In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic kept people in their homes and racing activities came to a standstill, Lamborghini started a one-make championship online. Not surprisingly, the event known as ‘The Real Race’ was a success as driving enthusiasts took to racing virtually. More than 2,500 drivers from 109 countries participated in the first edition of the Lamborghini eSports championship.
Huracan GT3 EVO for all participants
The immersive competition had the Huracan GT3 EVO for use by all participants. Each car had exclusive race livery created by Centro Stile, Lamborghini’s in-house design department. Participants could customize the looks in 12 different versions, with each car displaying the trademark logos of long-standing Lamborghini Squadra Corse partners – Pertamina, Pirelli and Roger Dubuis.
The competition returned in 2021 with 10 races and a new and upgraded regional format. The new format had a more global approach as racers competed both in traditional Grand Prix and in three Endurance races to earn points within their regional tournaments in Europe, America and Asia. As in 2020, they all drove a Huracan GT3 EVO in Assetto Corsa Competizione, the advanced racing simulation game.
Assetto Corsa Competizione was developed alongside car manufacturers and provides a dynamic platform for Lamborghini’s latest racing series. It has photorealistic weather conditions and graphics, night races, motion capture animations, reaching a new standard in terms of driving realism and immersion. The game is also used by official Lamborghini Squadra Corse test and race drivers in their real-world preparations.
The winners of the 6-month long championship enjoyed a track experience with the Lamborghini Squadra Corse and a VIP experience at Lamborghini Headquarters. Additionally, the top-ranked player of each regional series would be invited to become a Lamborghini Official Sim driver.
Creation of a ‘factory team’
Lamborghini decided to create its own official team – a ‘factory team’, just as in real life competition – to build on the valuable experience gained with The Real Race. The eSports Team represents a further opportunity to expand the brand’s presence in a sector that is constantly developing, highly competitive, and also strengthen its commitment to the eSports scene.
The three sim drivers chosen to represent the brand in the major international eSports competitions are Jordan Sherratt, Gianfranco Giglioli and Giorgio Simonini. Sherratt (South African, 23) and Giglioli (Italian-Venezuelan, 24) will compete together in the GT World Challenge Esports Sprint Series Europe, and Simonini (Italian, 22) will join the pair to form the crew for the 2022 Intercontinental GT Challenge Esports Endurance Championship.
The Sprint calendar consists of 5 races and started last weekend with the Misano race. The last round is set for August 3, with the grand finale scheduled in the virtual version of the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza.
The Intercontinental GT Challenge Esports series starts next weekend (April 16) with the 12 Hours of Bathurst, the famous Australian endurance race. Here too, there are 5 rounds on the calendar, with the competition concluding on August 27 with the 9 Hours of Kyalami at the famous circuit in South Africa.
Support from Squadra Corse
The three sim racers have been training hard, sharing important information on driving and set-up. They will be supported during the season by the Squadra Corse staff who are dedicating a team principal, driver coach and engineers to offer their expertise in the development and analysis of telemetry data, from the track to the virtual simulation.
“Sim racing is an important platform in today’s motorsport scene. Videogames were born to allow those who didn’t have opportunities for real-life racing to be like the professional drivers. Now, after several decades of development in the industry, sim racing is getting closer and closer to its real-life counterpart. Moreover, sim racing is an additional tool for us to develop some of the fundamental aspects of real racing, such as car set-ups and software applications that will play an important role in the future of our brand,” said Automobili Lamborghini’s Head of Motorsport, Giorgio Sanna.
This year’s TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) GT Cup ASIA 2021 Regional Finals saw 21 national qualifiers – from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Taiwan, and South Korea – competing against each other in the popular simulator racing event. They were battling it out not only for the attractive prize money but also a chance to represent Asia and compete alongside world players in the TGR GT Global finals to be held in December.
In the second running of the e-sports competition, Chou Yi Teng (Taiwan) and Nathayos Sirigaya (Thailand) opened the regional finals with leading positions in the first race for their respective groups. In the final round where the top 15 racers competed on the circuit used for the 24-Hour Le Mans race, Yi Teng steadily held his leading position through 5 laps to land first place, with other finalists racing closely behind him including defending champion Muhammad Aleef (Singapore). Overall, Nathayos – who placed third last year – clinched the winning spot. Yi Teng came second while Aleef came in third.
“I didn’t think I had a good shot at winning when I started in the fifth position in the final race, so I am very humbled for the win,” Nathayos said after his victory. “It has been an amazing experience racing alongside the best e-Motorsport racers in Asia. I’m taking away with me important learnings and experiences that will be immensely valuable heading into the Grand Finals. I am grateful for the opportunity provided by Toyota to pursue my passion for racing in the virtual world.”
The Regional Finals featured 3 races run on different circuits from around the world. The fight for the championship started with a semi-final race, where the 21 entrants competed in two groups using the GR Yaris. This was along the Tokyo Expressway – obviously not a circuit that would be used in real life!
Nathayos led the race and eventually took victory in the final seconds of the last lap for Group A. Trailing right behind him was fellow teammate Thanaphat Pungphat, as both Thai drivers stuck with each other throughout the race.
“The plan was to stick together in the qualifying round and work together to get to the finals,” Nathayos mentioned. With their plan playing out perfectly, the duo saw a total of 32 points in the team standings after the first round. For Group B, Chou Yi Teng (Taiwan) earned first place.
The top 5 racers from each group in the semi-final round proceeded to the third and final race, while the remaining 11 racers competed in the second race at the Fuji International Speedway. In this consolation race, 5 racers competing in the GR Supra captured the last 5 seats in the final race, with Andika Rama Maulana (Indonesia) finishing in first place.
After the exciting first two races, the third and final races were run at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium with the new GR 86 model, and then on the famous Circuit de la Sarthe which annually hosts the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. The car used was the 1000 ps Toyota TS050 Hybrid which has won the event many times.
“We are overwhelmed by the support for GR racers in our second year of TGR GT Cup Asia. We are excited to see more countries participating, increasing the competition intensity. It was thrilling to see Nathayos and Aleef returning to battle it out for the global final entries,” said the Vice-President of Toyota Marketing Asia, David Nordstrom.
A first for the tournament, prizes were also awarded for the top 3 country teams. Team Thailand took home the winning team honour with 131 points, followed by Team Malaysia in second place with 84 points, and Team Taiwan in third place with 83 points.
Today’s videogames have superior realism that they can even be used for global racing championships which thousands participate in. Even the FIA, the world motorsport governing body, has recognised simulation videogames, terming them as ‘digital motorsports’.
One of the companies that has been constantly pushing the edge of the simulation envelope further has been Polyphony Digital Inc., developer of the Gran Turismo series for Playstation (PS) consoles since 1997. The series has been constantly improved in all respects, especially realism, and will start its seventh version in March 2022 for PS4 and PS5 consoles.
Official technical partner
For Gran Turismo 7 (GT7), Polyphony Digital has chosen Brembo, a well known and leading designer and manufacturer of performance brake systems as an official technical partner. Brembo supplies brake systems to competition cars (including Formula 1) and motorcycles, as well as roadgoing cars.
In GT7, Brembo will appear in the Tuning Shop of the videogame where its UPGRADE products will be available to players. Like a real-world workshop, this virtual shop is where they can upgrade the performance of their cars.
Upgrading with different brake systems
In this environment, gamers will be able to replace their original brake discs with those from the Sport range and, as they progress through the game, to upgrade their car with different Brembo brake systems. The choice will range up to the highest performing and most distinctive products for road cars, including Carbon Ceramic brake discs and GT|BM calipers, available in 8 different colours.
Now part of Gran Turismo
“We are particularly proud to deliver the uniqueness of Brembo brake systems to the Gran Turismo series. This iconic driving simulation video game franchise has built a strong community of millions of gamers around the world since its creation almost 25 years ago,” said Daniele Schillaci, Brembo’s Chief Executive Officer. “For Brembo, this partnership represents an extraordinary opportunity to reach out to the younger generations, which is in line with our vision, ‘Turning Energy into Inspiration’. From the asphalt of the track, the performance and design of our systems have now become part of the virtual world of Gran Turismo 7. Our ambition is to further enhance the gaming experience, just as the driving experience does in reality.”
Kazunori Yamauchi, President of Polyphony Digital Inc. and Producer of the Gran Turismo series, has personal admiration for the brand. “Even before we released our first Gran Turismo, Brembo was a hero brand to me,“ he said. “As a street racer back then, I had often struggled with the brakes fading. This was because most production cars at the time, excluding a very select few, were not equipped with brakes that matched the power and weight of the car. I always found Brembo to be reliable on the circuit and, as a result, always had a connection with the brand. So it’s a pleasure to announce this partnership between Gran Turismo and Brembo, a true high performance brand.”
Brembo’s profile and values will be visible in the Gran Turismo 7 game’s Brand Central. The 60 years of the company’s history will be presented in the Brand Central Museum. In addition, Brembo will be visible with its branding on the tracks featured in the game as banners or billboards in the background.
Malaysia will once again have entrants in the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing GT CUP ASIA event which will be broadcast at 6:30 pm today. The event, organized by Toyota Motor Asia Pacific, will see Team Malaysia going up against the region’s elite racers from Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Korea, India and Taiwan for a chance to become Asia’s two representatives at the TGR GT Cup Global Finals, plus a Grand Prize of US$6,000 (about RM25,000) in cash.
Gunning to become champion in the second running of the event is Taj Izrin Aiman who finished second overall in the inaugural event last year. Compatriot Muhammad Iqbal will also be making his second appearance in the TGR GT CUP ASIA after finishing fourth overall last year. Both drivers earned their way to being participants by finishing in the top two positions, respectively, in the 2021 Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship, where Taj Izrin Aiman winning his second consecutive title. Nabil Azlan is the third member of the team.
The three members of the Malaysian team who will challenge racers from other countries in the region.
4 races, including a street circuit
The TGR GT CUP ASIA will be contested over 4 online races with competitors awarded points based on their placings. The opening race will see drivers competing behind the wheel of a GR Yaris in a 5-lap race around the 7.3-km Tokyo Expressway – where the Top 10 will proceed to the finals.
They will then switch to a GR Supra for another 5 laps for the consolation race, this time at the famous 4.5-km Fuji Speedway. For this race, the Top 5 will be given second wind to be part of the finals.
One of the races will be on the Tokyo Expressway.
Making its debut this season will be the all-new GR 86, and racers will take on 5 laps of the 7.0-km Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. During the race, every car must make a mandatory pit-stop and also a tyre change, which means departing from the race momentarily. The fourth and final race will certainly be the most gruelling – 3 long laps of the 13.6-km historical Le Mans Circuit de Sarthe in France behind the wheel of a TS 050 Hybrid sportscar.
Aiming for overall victory
Besides competing for the individual Grand Prize, our Malaysian drivers will also be vying for the US$6,000 team prize pool money. For Taj Izrin Aiman, 23, two straight Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship titles and his second appearance in the TGR GT CUP ASIA, will help boost his confidence and determination to take the overall title this time.
The sim racers will use the TS 050 HYBRID racing car for the final race. This is the real car on the way to one of its wins at the Le Mans 24-Hour race.
“If last year’s event is anything to go by, all I can say is that the TGR GT CUP ASIA is insanely competitive considering we will be racing against the region’s best drivers,” he said prior to this evening’s races. “The most important thing will be to remain focussed and consistent. You cannot afford to make mistakes in any of the races; if you do, the odds of bouncing back into championship contention will be anything from slim to impossible.”
His performance in the Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship has been exceptionally consistent and almost dominant when he won two of the three races and finished second once earning him the overall prize of RM20,000. More than 800 participants participated in the championship which began with qualifying rounds in late August, before the top 20 racers moved on to compete in semi-finals held on September 18.
Racing in real and virtual worlds now
“E-racing has taken the country and the region by storm, and this has uncovered an incredible pool of talented simulator racers. Racing is an integral part of Toyota’s heritage and today, that takes place both in the real and virtual worlds,” said GAZOO Racing Malaysia’s Chief Motorsports Officer Akio Takeyama.
“Simulator racing technology has also evolved exponentially over the years and today it is becoming an increasingly important training platform to bring new drivers into motor racing. This is something we have already experienced first-hand with the participation of virtual racers in the Vios Challenge – street racing championship in Malaysia. They are not only capable of making a quicker transition into a racing car, but they are also excelling in racing,” added Mr. Takeyama, who is also a racer himself in the Vios Challenge.
Billed as one of the most lucrative local online racing series in the country, the Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship was first held in 2018 and UMW Toyota Motor remains the first and the only Malaysian car company to be associated with fast-growing E-sports motor racing activities.
Similarly, the TGR GT CUP ASIA is also the only event of its kind in the region organized by a manufacturer. The Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship was instrumental in inspiring the series.
Both the TGR GT CUP ASIA and the Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship support UMW Toyota Motor’s ongoing initiative to bring motorsports to the masse, according to Ravindran K., President of UMW Toyota Motor. “Our objective in Malaysian motorsports is to cultivate greater interest, awareness and appreciation for the sport. There is also enormous talent both on the racing circuit and online, and we would like to bring this to the forefront in support of youth development,” he said.
The excitement of the Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship returns this weekend with the top 20 simulator racers in Malaysia vying for the honours of winning a share of the total prize pool of RM70,000. Additionally, the top three winners will go on to represent the country in the GR GT Cup Asia qualifiers organized by Toyota Motor Asia Pacific.
Most lucrative local online racing series
Billed as one of the most lucrative local online racing series in the country, the Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship offers a cash prize of RM20,000, RM10,000, RM7,000, RM5,500, RM4,500 to the top 5 overall winners. The 6th to 10th finishers will receive RM4,000, RM3,500, RM3,000, RM2,500 and RM2,000, respectively.
There’s also a prize of RM500 each for those who finish in 11th to 20th positions. Additional cash prizes of RM450 and RM200 will be awarded to the first and second place winners in each of the two individual races.
Prior to this weekend’s semi-finals and finals, more than 800 participants from around Malaysia participated in the championship which began with qualifying rounds last month. Then came the quarter-finals which were held on September 4 and 5 to select the top 20 racers who will compete in the semi-finals on September 18. The 10 best racers will then move to the final challenge on Sunday.
The semi-finals and finals have been held in public spaces in previous years. This year, due to the pandemic and need for social distancing to be maintained, the racers will connect from their homes using Sony PlayStation’s Gran Turismo Sport platform.
Unlike previous years when the events were held in public spaces, this year’s finale will be run completely online from each competitor’s home, with the race utilizing Sony PlayStation’s Gran Turismo Sport platform. Spectators can follow the race action which will be broadcast on TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Malaysia’s Facebook and YouTube pages and also over Astro eGG, the first eSports channel in Southeast Asia.
The Toyota 2000GT is one of the cars the sim racers will use. Only 351 units of Japan’s first supercar were produced between 1967 and 1970. Being of an earlier era, its driving dynamics will be different from the modern racing cars like the Le Mans-winning TS050 HYBRID (below) which will also be used.
Racing at famous circuits
In the semi-finals, all the racers will first pilot the Toyota 2000GT (the first Japanese supercar) in a 15-minute race around the 73-year old Goodwood Motor Circuit in England, and afterwards another reversed-grid order race of the 3.8-km circuit. The third race behind the wheel of the GR Supra Racing Concept for a 30-minute race at Australia’s 6.2-km Mount Panorama-Bathurst circuit, well known for its annual 12-hour race.
One of the tracks will be Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.
The final is also a 3-race format. The first two races will see a 15-minute sprint race with racers competing in the FT-1 Vision Gran Turismo GR.3 at the 7-km Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. The championship decider will be a 40-minute finale at Fuji Speedway, behind the wheel of the Le Mans-winning TS050 Hybrid, during which they must make at least one pit-stop.
The two-day semi-finals and finals will see 4 previous GR Velocity Esports Championship winners returning. They include defending champion Taj Aiman, and last year’s runner-up and third place winner Iqbal Suji and Mior Hafiz, as well as 2018 winner Muhammad Uzair. Last year, Taj finished second overall in first-ever GR Supra GT Cup Asia.
The finals will also see several racers currently competing in the Vios Challenge Promotional, Sporting, Super Sporting and Rookie classes, in an exhibition race. Having challenged each other in the first round at Sepang earlier this year, they will now have a chance to continue the duels while waiting for the series to be resumed.
Some of the racers from the Vios Challenge, in Season 4 this year, will also participate in an exhibition race online.
During the broadcasts on the two days, there will also be interviews with the racers as well as GR Ambassador, Tengku Djan Ley and the event’s Race Director, former F1 driver Alex Yoong. The broadcast times will be 10:30 am to 6 pm on Saturday and 3 pm to 6 pm on Sunday.
Fourth year of championship
First held in 2018, the number of participants in the Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship has grown from 400 to more than 800 this year. Last year’s event drew more than 1 million online spectators who watched the 2-day event via the Facebook and YouTube channels. Until today, UMW Toyota Motor remains the first and the only Malaysian car company to be associated with e-sports, a fast-growing activity which has even been recognised by the FIA, the world motorsport governing body.
“The momentum and the level of interest for the GR Velocity Esports Championship have grown tremendously in just 4 years. This is a huge boost for both e-sports and motorsports and we are glad that we persevered to keep the championship going despite the restrictions faced due to the pandemic,” said President of UMW Toyota Motor, Ravindran K.
The Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship has been run since 2018.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Malaysia’s Chief Motorsports Officer, Akio Takeyama, said the company remains committed to its aspirations of establishing a bigger footprint in Malaysian motorsports.
“In the 4 years that the GAZOO Racing brand has actively been in Malaysian motorsports, we have seen the eco-system dynamically transform. At one point, we experienced young racers joining the Vios Challenge street racing series, and then it evolved to having simulator racers not only joining the event but proving they are also capable of winning a real race. Today, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we see a growing population of professional racers not just globally but also domestically, migrating to compete online in the absence of physical events. This is a fantastic evolution for both esports and motorsports and I believe moving forward one will be dependent on the other in order to produce racers of exceptional quality,” said Mr. Takeyama.
