First-Ever Grand Prix To Highlight This Weekend’s Toyota Gazoo Racing Vios Cup

It’s going to be another historic weekend as Toyota Motor Philippines introduces the Grand Prix to cap off the Toyota Gazoo Racing Vios Cup 2023 season this November 11, 2023, at Clark International Speedway in Pampanga.

Toyota Gazoo Racing fans can expect the last leg of this year’s Vios Cup, to be filled with excitement, electrifying cheers and heart-thumping action as racers battle it out to defend their places at the podium for the season championship. To bring the energy notches higher, the Grand Prix will serve as the highlight of the Circuit Championship.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing Vios Cup Grand Prix will be the culminating race before this season’s champions are declared. Each driver will have 1.5 hours of driving on the race track and the racer with the most laps completed wins the race. This endurance drive will be a definitive race as this round gives each participating racer double points. 

A total of 30 racers across the three classes—Super Sporting, Sporting, and Promotional—will be at the grid at the same time and will each have a mandatory pitstop, bringing the competition to the next level of thrill and excitement. 

The exhilarating weekend will be made even hotter by Super Sporting class racing stars Red Diwa, Lord Seno, Joaquin Garrido, Gerard Loy, Troy Montero, John Dizon, Bryan Co, Royce Sarmiento, Ian Rosales and season newcomer Jacob Ang. 

A mix of pro and neophyte racers will join the Sporting class, namely Alan Palacios, Russel Cabrera, Michael Keilani Jordan, Jay Lai, Bern Corpino, Marky Young and Maila Alivia. Father and son Darrell Garbes and Jiro Garbes and Golden Wheel Awards Foundation Driver of the Year Miguel Quiñones will also run this race. 

Watch out for Toyota Gazoo Racing racers in the Promotional class: Jarond Mesina, Alain Alzona, Bong Garbes, Paolo Ayo, Chris Gleeson, Rich Lim and Paul Ang. Celebrities Enzo Pineda and Ryan Agoncillo will also join in the fun as will Julia Delos Angeles, who started her Vios Cup journey at just 16 years old. 

Catch crowd favorites Macoy Dubs, Megan Young and Benedict Cua as they bring excitement and competition in the Autocross Challenge. They will be joined by a diverse mix of racers comprised of Ezra Domingo, Genesis Redido, Apple David, Arianne Bautista, Reph Bangsil, Migy Romulo, Bianca Yao, Carla Lizardo and Lexi Mendiola. 

Aside from Circuit Championship and Autocross Challenge, this leg will also start with a drifting exhibition featuring Toyota Gazoo Racing Team’s Ryan Agoncillo and Filipino pride racers, Luis Gono and Alex Perez. TGR Vios Cup media class alums Jamil Lacuna of Autoindustriya and Pablo Salapantan of YugaAuto will also be back on the tracks this leg in an exhibition Autocross Challenge with another former media class champion, Jose Altoveros. 

To further ignite the Gazoo spirit, people can check out the GR-S lineup featuring Fortuner GR-S and Rush GR-S, which will be displayed in the Toyota Gazoo Racing Vios Cup 2023 activity area. Sponsors also prepared different games and activities for audience to enjoy. And, wrapping off the heart-pumping cheer, up-and-coming indie band Sunkissed Lola will perform and set the mood for the racers and audience at the speedway.