One million online views top virtual racing at the Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship

SHAH ALAM 29 Sept. - Team mates and friends Taj Izrin Aiman Taj Madira, Mior Muhammad Hafiz and Muhammad Iqbal Ahmad Suji won big time at the Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship grand final when they clinched the top three positions to win almost RM40,000 in cash prizes in what is the most lucrative virtual racing event in Malaysia.

The trio also earned bragging rights to represent Malaysia at Toyota’s Regional eSports competition. The two-day Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship brought together an elite group of 20 online racers who competed in a semi-final on Saturday (26 September 2020), with the top 10 fastest drivers advancing to the grand final on Sunday (27 September 2020).

Held at the UMW Toyota Motor Sdn. Bhd. (UMWT) headquarters in Shah Alam, the Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship garnered more than one million online views over the weekend.

Taj Izrin Aiman clinched victory in Race 1 behind the wheel of a GR Supra RZ at the Autodrome Lago Maggiore circuit in Italy, finishing ahead of Mior Muhammad with Rio Pandukusuma in third place in the 15-lap race.

In Race 2, at the Autopolis Racing Course in Japan, Moo Shuan Jinq took the chequered flag ahead of Mior Muhammad in the 18-lap race in a FT-1 Vision Gran Turismo, with Taj Izrin Aiman finishing in third position.

Meanwhile, in Race 3 at Circuit de la Sarthe in France, Muhammad Iqbal piloted a TS050 Hybrid sports car to victory ahead of Mior Muhammad and Ariff Roslan in second and third places respectively.

By the end of the three races, the overall championship was down to three potential winners with Mior Muhammad leading with 54 points, followed by Taj Izrin Aiman at 50, and Muhammad Iqbal with 45 points.

In the fourth and final 18-lap race at the famous 13.6km Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium, Taj Izrin Aiman however, stamped his authority by leading the race from start to finish in a Toyota-powered Dallara Super Formula SF19, building an unassailable lead of nine seconds ahead of Arif Roslan and Rio Pandukusuma who finished second and third respectively.

Low Wooi Kit crossed the finish line in fourth place, followed by Muhammad Iqbal in fifth, while Mior Muhammad who was fourth at one point in the race dropped to sixth, finishing more than 35 seconds behind the race winner and essentially bidding farewell to his hopes of winning the overall championship.

The Toyota GAZOO RACING Velocity Esports Championship had kicked off with a series of four qualifying rounds in September with some 720 online racers taking part.

In total, the championship offered more than RM70, 000 in prize monies making it the biggest and most lucrative virtual racing competition in Malaysia.

“Judging from the level of competition we have seen over the weekend, the driving standards and the technical knowledge competitors bring to virtual racing today are very high, They (the competitors) are very serious about what they do, and despite never having experienced real racing, the degree of race craft, the strategies they adopt, discipline and familiarization as well as adaptability to the different types of vehicles and tracks they are exposed to is simply phenomenal,” GAZOO RACING Malaysia’s Chief Motorsports Officer Akio Takeyama.

“Virtual racing is indeed becoming an important bridge to real racing, and this is also an area we at Toyota are investing in with the start of our GAZOO RACING Young Talent Development Program which will not only provide young karters, but also virtual racers, with the opportunity to transition into real world saloon car racing.”

President of UMW Toyota Motor Sdn. Bhd. Mr. Ravindran K. also underlined that virtual racing will be another strong pillar for Toyota to bring motorsports to the masses.

First held in 2018, the Toyota GAZOO RACING Velocity Esports Championship makes UMWT the first, and remains as the only car company to be associated with the fast-growing E-sports motor-racing activities in Malaysia. “Moving forward, the GAZOO RACING brand will continue to spearhead and expand Toyota’s presence in Malaysian motorsports with a number of new initiatives to be rolled out soon,” said Ravindran. - DagangNews.com