The 2025 Vios Challenge Round 1 Race 1 featured exciting door-to-door races across all three classes, showcasing young drivers from Toyota GAZOO Racing Malaysia’s Young Talent Development Program who dominated the podium.
This season saw a total of nine former rookies are signed up, with eight competing in the Sporting Class for amateurs and one mixing it up with the professionals in the Super Sporting Class.
In the Sporting Class, six former rookies took the top seven spots at the end of the 20-lap race at the Petronas Sepang International Circuit.
2024 Rookie Class champion Adam Mikail, who moved up to the Sporting Class this year, had a fantastic performance and won his first race of the year for G-Mart Motorsport. He finished just ahead of fellow former rookie Jwan Hii (2021 graduate) from Hong Huat X Armada KK Racing, who was 0.6 seconds behind. Taj Izrin Aiman, racing for Saksama Motorsports, came in 3rd place, five seconds later.
Finishing 4th was Elson Lew (2023) from BAE Racing by ES Yang, followed by Brandon Ho (2024) for Axle Sports in 5th, Raja Amirul (2024) from TD Racing in 6th, and Mika Hakimi (2021) racing for S&D Tama Motorsports in 7th.
Hii took an early lead but lost it to Adam on lap 2. After that, the gap between the two leading drivers stayed around half a second.
“I’m thankful to have been given this opportunity and I’d like to thank Toyota and my team G-Mart Motorsport for giving me a car that’s fit to fight this weekend. I’m honestly really happy to end up on the podium with a race win,” said Adam.
“Moving up to the Sporting Class the level of competitiveness has really risen and has tested me to the best of my abilities. I’ve been eating well, making sure I’m fit for the race, working on my stamina and a bit of seat time on the simulator in preparation for the race.”
For Hii, second place was a great comeback.
“It’s been four years since I last raced in the Vios Challenge and with a lot of young blood coming up the ranks, I can’t help but to feel a bit old now. I am fortunate enough to have my team who have been very supportive of my journey in the Vios Challenge and they have given me the opportunity to participate this year.”
Taj Aiman showed impressive skills in his first Vios Challenge. Known for his success online, he is a four-time champion of the GR GT Cup Malaysia racing series.
“I’m really excited with the race today although I still need to work on my fitness level. To be honest I did come into the race weekend feeling a bit pressured but I managed to calm myself.”
In the Super Sporting Class for professionals, Ady Rahimy from Laser Motor Racing quickly took the lead from pole position and kept it throughout the 20-lap race. While there seemed to be a close fight between Freddie Ang from Telagamas Toyota and Nabil Azlan from Wheelcorp (the 2022 Rookie Class champion), Ady managed to increase his lead, finishing 3.0 seconds ahead of Ang, with Nabil in 3rd place.
“Thank you to my team for this chance. From practice to the first race, the car was well set up and we were strong right from the start. Season 7 was tough for me, but starting Season 8 with this win is amazing. My goal remains the same – as a team, we always aim to win the overall championship, but we still have a long way to go,” said Ady.
Freddie Ang, also a strong contender for this year’s championship, is known for his steady performance and competitive spirit, aiming to challenge Ady’s plans.
“Ady was quite fast throughout the weekend and the expectations coming into the first race was to realistically finish 2nd or 3rd. As far as targets are concerned, it remains the same as the previous season which is to fight for a win in every race,” said Ang.
The 2025 Rookie Class turned out to be very exciting, with the top three drivers competing hard for their spots.
In the end, 19-year-old Harkiesh Geeva, who is a recreational karter and simulator racer, won the race, just ahead of 18-year-old Aydan Khaliq, a professional karter. 21-year-old Justin Rahul Dev, also a pro karter, took third place.
“This was my very first car race and I thankful that I managed to finish it in 1st place from pole position. My team mates really gave me a hard time in the track. It was a really great experience and I’m extremely pleased,” said Harkiesh.
“Just as anticipated, the racing was extremely close just as it were during our practice sessions on the simulator. The biggest difference was the physical element involved – it was really tiring and of course having to contend with the heat in the car.”
Race 2 resumes tomorrow (27 April) and to catch the 2025 Vios Challenge action visit TGR Malaysia’s social media platforms at:
- Facebook: facebook.com/tgrmy
- Instagram: instagram.com/tgrmalaysia
- YouTube: youtube.com/@tgrmalaysia
For more information on race schedules, driver details and updates, visit: www.toyota.com.my/en/tgrmalaysia for full
ROUND 1, RACE 1 RESULTS
SUPER SPORTING CLASS
1. Ady Rahimy Laser Motor Racing
2. Freddie Ang TelagamasToyota
3. Nabil Azlan Wheelcorp
SPORTING CLASS
1. Adam Mikail G-Mart Motorsport
2. Jwan Hii Hong Huat X Armada KK Racing
3. Taj Izrin Aiman Saksama Motorsports
ROOKIE CLASS
1. Harkiesh Geeva
2. Aydan Khaliq
3. Justin Rahul Dev