SAVE THE DATE!!

Super Sporting Class

In the Super Sporting class, Freddie Ang driving for Telagamas Toyota clinched the win in Race 2 ahead of Toyotsu’s William Ho and defending class champion Boy Wong.

Freddie made a brilliant getaway from the front of the grid to lead the 22-lap race from start to finish with Ho in close pursuit but not having the right opportunity to overtake.

For Ho, setting for second place was a strategic decision to keep his championship hopes alive.

The day however, did not go as planned for Race 1 winner Tengku Djan Ley who overcooked it in the very first lap and brushed the concrete barrier. A damaged right rear wheel forced him to pit but rejoining the race two laps down essentially concluded his challenge.

RESULTS

Sporting Class

Competition in the Sporting class was no less intense with two safety car incidents which eventually decided how the race would end.

Starting at the front of the grid, S&D Tama Motorsports’ Tom Goh led into the first corner ahead of Dream Chaser’s Bradley Benedict Anthony, Crestmax Motorsports’ Adam Khalid, SMS Motorsports’ Haji Sutan Mustaffa Salihin and Panglima City Racing Team’s Kenneth Koh.

The race however, was prematurely stopped in the second lap after a 6-car pile-up. At the restart which was held behind the safety car, 4 of the 16 cars had been eliminated.

Goh continued his dominant drive after the restart and built a gap of more than a two seconds as Haji Sutan and Bradley Benedict was pre-occupied in the battle for second place. Bradley Benedict eventually passed Haji Sutan in the ninth lap and began hunting down Goh.

As the final stages of the race unfolded, Shanmuganathan Arumugam spun his vehicle on the track which brought out the safety car for a second time. This virtually erased whatever gap Goh had worked so hard to establish and with two laps to finish (after the safety car exited the track), Bradley Benedict mounted a last minute challenge which put him into the lead two corners from the chequered flag to claim his first race victory of the season. Goh settled for second with Haji Sutan coming in third.

RESULTS

The third season of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Vios Challenge Cup continued apace with an action-packed weekend on the streets of Penang in the Batu Kawan area. Action on the first day was relatively low key, as top contenders in all three classes drove a textbook race to claim victory in race 1 and extend their championship lead.

Things heated up the next day, however, with far more dramatic action witnessed in all three categories. In total, the two days of action for Round 3 attracted the attendance of over 15,000 spectators.

WHAT THE DRIVERS SAY

“I had a good start and just tried to pull away. William was close behind but I managed to maintain a good pace to the finish. It was also tough due to the intense heat today.”

- Freddie Ang

“I had a good start and was following Mirza for quite a few laps but then he made a mistake and understeered into the corner. There was no contact between the two of us and fortunately I managed to avoid Mirza. From then on, I had a clear track ahead and just maintained a consistent pace.”

- Hayden Haikal

“The race was tough on both tyres and brakes. You have to go fast but you have to be smooth and can’t over cook it. You have to carefully pick and choose where you can push the car. It was not easy. If you just continue to push too hard you will end up hitting the wall.”

- Tengku Djan

“It was super hot inside the car although I had the window wound down. Freddie (Ng) made a good start and there was absolutely no opportunity for overtaking. There are still two races to go and I didn’t want to take any unnecessary risk that would have jeopardized my chances in the championship.”

- William Ho

THE ACTION - DAY 1

Promotional Class

The Promotional class race for local celebrities was textbook finish for Shawn Lee who stormed to the finish from pole position. In second place was television presenter Nabil Ahmad followed by actor Shukri Yahaya in this position.

RESULTS

Sporting Class

In the Sporting class, Aylezo Motorsports’ Mirza Syahmi Mahzan also made a brilliant start from pole position to lead the 22-lap race from S&D Motorsports’ Hayden Haikal, Panglima City Racing Team’s Kenneth Koh and Crestmax Motorsports’ Adam Khalid.

The first four laps became a close fight for the top two positions with 0.5 seconds separating Mirza and Hayden, but a mistake in the fifth lap sent the former into the wall prematurely ending his race. Hayden inherited the lead and as the race unfolded, extended his lead from 3 to as much as 8 seconds ahead of Koh.For Adam, third place was a huge consolation especially having conceded his third position on the starting grid to Koh due to a slower start.

RESULTS

Super Sporting Class

The Super Sporting class saw an extraordinary demonstration of skill by 23 Motors’ Tengku Djan who led the race from pole position to finish 5 seconds clear of Laser Motor Racing’s Mark Darwin and Dream Chaser’s Brendan Paul Anthony.

Tengku Djan made a flawless start from the front of the grid and by the first two laps was already 2.3 seconds ahead of Kegani Racing’s Kenny Lee. Lee’s race however, came to abrupt end on lap 9 when he clipped the wall. That brought out the safety car for four laps essentially erasing whatever lead Tengku Djan had built up, and promoted Mark and Brendan into second and third positions respectively.

RESULTS

THE ACTION - DAY 2

Promotional Class

In the Promotional class, Shukri Yahaya, Nabil Ahmad and Shawn Lee again made up the top three positions in an equally exciting 20-lap race.

Shukri was the biggest gainer at the start, jumping from fourth position on the grid to second place, passing singers Nabila Razali and Wany Hasrita who were caught off guard. Actress Janna Nick made the most of her pole position to lead the race for two laps before having to yield to Shukri who was clearly setting faster pace.

By lap 4, Nabil too made a move to claim second from Janna who by then had to fend off a further challenge from Lee.

Janna defended well on the track and put up her best driving yet this season but slight contact with Lee four laps from the finish spun her around into oncoming traffic. Actress Diana Danielle and Nabila managed to avoid hitting Janna’s car but actor Syafiq Kyle drove straight into her.

RESULTS

1

Shawn Lee

4

Nabila Razali

2

Nabil Ahmad

3

Shukri Yahaya

5

Wany Hasrita

4

Bradley Benedict

Dream Chaser

3

Adam Khalid

Crestmax Motorsports

5

Haji Sutan Mustaffa Salihin

SMS Motorsports

1

Hayden Haikal

S&D Motorsports

2

Kenneth Koh

Panglima City Racing Team

1

Tengku Djan Ley

23 Motors

4

Boy Wong

2

Mark Darwin

Laser Motor Racing

3

Brendan Paul Anthony

Dream Chaser

1

Shukri Yahaya

4

Diana Danielle

2

Nabil Ahmad

3

Shawn Lee

5

Nabila Razali

4

Adam Khalid

Crestmax Motorsports

2

Tom Goh

S&D Tama Motorsports

5

Kenneth Koh

Panglima City Racing Team

1

Freddie Ang

Telagamas Toyota

4

Syafiq Ali

M7 Japan Project Team

2

William Ho

Toyotsu

3

Boy Wong

5

Mark Darwin

Laser Motor Racing

The Stage is Set

Malaysia’s premier one-make race series hits the streets of Penang for Round 3.

“It’s evident that looking at the top 5 or 10 drivers in every class, the time differences between us are very marginal. I had a very good fight with Kenneth (Koh) and his offensive structure is very strong. Finishing third is not too bad and the goal is to finish in the points every time.”

- Adam Khalid

1

Bradley Benedict Anthony

Dream Chaser

THE TRACK

11

TURNS

1560

METRES

14100 Simpang Ampat, Penang, Malaysia

The race started with the safety car due to rain but got back underway after 6 laps. Singer Nabila Razali meanwhile, was the fastest rose on the track, finishing fourth ahead of fellow singer Wany Hasrita and actress Janna Nick in sixth.

5

William Ho

3

Haji Sutan Mustaffa Salihin

SMS Motorsports