This weekend will see the finale of yet another season of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) GT Cup Malaysia e-sports event. Organised by UMW Toyota Motor (UMWT) as part of its motorsports activities, the TGR GT Cup Malaysia (previously known as (Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship) has been running since 2018.
Fuelling growing interest in e-sports
UMWT is the first and only Malaysian car company to be associated with the fast-growing e-sports activities, contributing to the growing interest in online sim racing in the country. The number of participants has kept growing from the 400 who took part in the first season.
Over the past 5 seasons, the event has also been watched by some 40,000 spectators and over 3 million viewers in Malaysia and worldwide as it has been broadcast live over social media channels. The popularity grew especially during the pandemic period when people had to remain at home, and events such as online e-sports competition became very active.
It is a lucrative event for those who do well, and this year, the total prize money is RM90,500, which is the largest ever offered by UMWT.
According to Datuk Ravindran K., President of UMWT, online and simulator racing have become an important training ground for today’s new generation of racers. “We are fortunate to have been at the forefront of embracing this worldwide phenomenon from the very beginning. These initiatives have had a very profound impact in producing extremely competitive and talented young racers in the real world. These young racers have not only made successful transitions into racing series organized by Toyota such as the GR Vios Challenge, GR Vios Sprint Cup and GR Vios Enduro Cup but have also progressed to make a mark and even dominating in other championships both locally and abroad.”
The final showdown
This weekend, 20 of Malaysia’s fastest sim racers will gather for a final showdown after shoot-outs in quarter-finals yesterday. These top 20 racers will battle in the semi-final today (Saturday August 19) to determine the best 10 racers who will advance to the final tomorrow. The event is taking place at the Sunway Pyramid Mall Blue Concourse in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
This year’s finale will see the return of two former champions – Taj Izrin Aiman Taj Madira who has won the event twice and Mior Muhammad Hafiz Mior Lahmudin.
As in previous 2 years, the top three winners will become the team that represents Malaysia in the GR GT Cup Asia. The outcome of their performance in the regional event organised by Toyota Asia-Pacific will determine whether they also get a seat to compete in the World Finals.
Exhibition races by Vios Challenge competitors
Besides the heated competition, there will also be a series of exhibition races involving racers and celebrities competing in the GR Vios Challenge racing series. The celebrities include actors Shukri Yahaya and Zizan Razak; actress and television personality Ahirine Ahirudin; television personality Ain Edruce; actor, television host and Hot FM radio presenter Imran Aqil; actor and host Ezzrin Loy; actor, host and television personality Hefny Sahad; and actress and model Reen Rahim.
Also showing off their skills in the virtual world will be the top contenders in the GR Vios Challenge such as Prima Pearl TD Racing’s Tengku Djan Ley and teammate Mitchell Cheah; Axle Sports’ Hayden Haikal; Royal47 Racing’s Brendan Paul Anthony; and Crestmax Motorsport’s Bradley Benedict Anthony.
Two sim racers transition to real racing
Also present will be Naquib Azlan and Nabil Azlan, two brothers who are racing in the series. They are fine examples of how sim racing has prepared them for real-world racing. Both of them had long experience in sim racing and are graduates of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Young Talent Development Program.
Starting off in the Rookie Class of the series after their intensive training, the two brothers have performed impressively. Elder brother Naquib has been progressing up into the next categories and becoming a serious challenger in the series.
Sim racing at universities
This year too, the GR GT Cup Malaysia will see the participation of the top 10 fastest racers from universities for the first time. A special tour earlier in the year introduced sim racing at selected universities such as UiTM Shah Alam, INTI Subang and Sunway University who will have representatives participating this weekend.
“This initiative to introduce simulator racing to institutions of higher learning is with the objective of pioneering a program to inspire young people and to open up opportunities in motorsports that many would never have considered otherwise,” Datuk Ravindran said. “It is in line with one of Toyota’s objectives to not only contribute to the overall development of motorsports in Malaysia, but to also elevate motorsports as a profession.”