Action on track intensified during the first of two season-closing races in the Toyota GAZOO Racing Malaysia Vios Challenge, with dark horses outshining championship favourites, leaving the title race wide open.
With one final race remaining and RM300,000 at stake, champions in the Super Sporting, Sporting, and Rookie Classes will be decided after the chequered flag tomorrow (10 Jan). The 2.609km South Track at the Petronas Sepang International Circuit, newly introduced for this event, proved technical and challenging for all drivers.
SUPER SPORTING CLASS:
In the top Super Sporting Class, Ady Rahimy from Laser Motor Racing started in first place and finished the race 1.4 seconds ahead of William Ho from Toyotsu Racing. Amer Harris from KMS 333 Motorsports took third place.
Ady had a fantastic start and quickly took the lead in the 30-minute race, even building a 5.4-second lead over Ho by the 15th lap. However, his lead shrank when the safety car came out on lap 16 to clear Kenneth Koh’s Vios from PCM Group Racing Team, which had stalled on the track, with only 8 minutes left to race.
“It’s great to be back on the winner’s podium once more after an extremely challenging season for me. While I’m no longer a contender for the overall championship title, this race win will go a long way in consolidating my current 3rd position in the overall standings,” said a clearly elated Ady as he recounts health problems in Round 2 and a puncture in Round 3 that had effectively and prematurely ended his chances to fight for the 2025 overall championship.
With only a few points between them, Telagamas Toyota’s Freddie Ang and Team Prima Pearl SP Selatan’s Mitchell Cheah are competing for the overall championship in Season 8. Ang finished the race in 5th place, while Cheah ended up in 7th. Ang had a tough race, changing positions multiple times with Koh before facing pressure from Amer and Nabil Azlan from Wheelcorp. Koh eventually had to retire from the race, and Amer, who was in 4th, passed Ang in the final stages and also overtook PS Otomobil’s Bradley Benedict for 3rd place on the last lap.
The winner of the Super Sporting Class will receive RM80,000, while the runner-up and the 3rd place winner will get RM60,000 and RM40,000, respectively.
SPORTING CLASS:
Teenager Adam Mikail, a former rookie champion from Toyota GAZOO Racing Malaysia, raced impressively in the Sporting Class for amateurs, winning the 30-minute race by 3.3 seconds over his closest competitor.
Starting in second place, Adam quickly took the lead, with Nick THZ from Motul by Awesome Racing Team and Taj Izrin Aiman from Saksama Motorsports close behind. The first six laps turned into a fierce battle between Adam and Nick, with several tight moments and changes in the lead. Adam managed to stay calm and maintain his lead, even if only by a little. Although Taj finished 3rd, he received a penalty, allowing Ng Khai EE from HLT Crestmax Motorsports to take the final spot on the podium.
“It was a very tough race especially with Nick being equally fast and defensive. The highlight of this afternoon’s race was certainly in being able to cross the finish line in 1st position,” said Adam.
Former Rookie driver Jwan Hii aims to win the overall title and finished 4th for Hong Huat X Armada KK Racing. He will start from the second row for Race 2.
ROOKIE CLASS:
While everyone was focused on Rahul Dev and Ian James, who are close in points (147 and 143), it was Harkiesh Geeva who surprised them by winning Race 1.
Harkiesh finished just one second ahead of Rahul, with Aydan Khaliq coming in 3rd. This great result means that the Rookie championship title is still open to four drivers. James didn’t take advantage of Race 1 and finished 5th among the rookies, just behind Genevieve Ooi.
VIOS CLASSIC RACE
In the first race of the Vios Classic Race, Thai drivers Surasak Dakeng and Varunchit Wattanathanakun initially won but were later penalized and moved to 4th place. This change allowed Alister Yoong and Aman Nagdev from Axle Sports to take 1st place. Lim Yoong Kit and Kenneth Koh finished in 2nd, while Loke Yin Yi and Kenny Lee from Kegani Racing Academy came in 3rd.
The Vios Classic Race brings back older models of the Toyota GAZOO Racing Malaysia Vios Challenge cars to compete. Each race allows two drivers per car, and both must take a mandatory 2-minute pit stop. The cars are kept standard with no modifications to ensure fair racing. In the next race, the winner will start in 6th place.
The prize for each race winner is RM10,000, the runner-up gets RM8,000, and the 3rd place winner receives RM6,000. The 4th and 5th place finishers will earn RM4,000 and RM2,000, respectively.