GR Vios Challenge Round 2 – Zizan Razak, Shukri Yahaya claim race wins; 3.7 million online viewers

Round 2 of the GR Vios Challenge happened at the Sepang International Circuit last weekend and a total of 3.7 million viewers tuned in across all Toyota Gazoo Racing Malaysia’s social media platforms. They got to see an exciting race weekend with plenty of close racing.

If Race 1 on Saturday appeared calculated and cautious, Sunday’s Race 2 saw more intense competition as all the top drivers in the four racing classes jostled to accumulate championship points. The chase for the overall titles in the Super Sporting Class (elite drivers), Sporting Class (amateurs), Rookie Class (young drivers) and Promotional Class (celebrities) remains very much open with one final round to go in September.

“The fact that you can never single out a favourite driver to dominate with the door to door competition – right up to the last corner of the last lap – in the GR Vios Challenge is what keeps spectators and online viewers at the edge of their seats. I want to take this opportunity to thank all our online viewers and race fans for their support. It is the fans who have made the GR Vios Challenge what it is today. Of course, not forgetting all our racers, race team, dealers and sponsors,” said UMW Toyota Motor president Datuk Ravindran K.

In Race 2 of the Sporting Class, former Rookie driver and pole-sitter Sharique Zulqarnain botched his take off and allowed Panglima City Racing Team’s Kenneth Koh to streak into the lead with Crestmax Motorsport’s Bradley Benedict Anthony in third and Distinctive Model’s Aaron Haikal in fourth.

Sharique however, dropped out of contention three laps into the race leaving Koh, Bradley and Aaron to slug it out for the podium spots. Bradley eventually got pass Koh for the lead in lap 7 and the three drivers would continue their private battle on track until the chequered flag. Bradley eventually won the race just 0.6 seconds ahead of Koh, with Aaron in third place and his second podium finish of the weekend.

In a reverse grid format, Axle Sports’ Naquib Azlan shot into the lead from pole position with Telagamas Toyota’s Freddie Ang in tow and Hayden Haikal in third at the start of the Super Sporting Class race. By lap 2, it was Hayden’s turn to lead the race from Ang and Laser Motor Racing’s Putera Adam moving up to third position as Naquib came under big pressure, dropping him to sixth.

Putera eventually got pass Ang for second in lap 5 but his lead would be short lived when the race was red flagged and stopped at the seventh lap due to a racing incident. At the restart, and with two laps to go, Putera remained in the lead with Ang wrestling his way back into second place and Prima Pearl TD Racing’s Mitchell Cheah finishing third.

The battle in the Rookie Class was won by Elson Lew who redeemed himself from a poor result in Race 1 to win Race 2. Lew had been fastest in qualifying but finished fifth in Race 1 after a bad start. Coming in second was Iman Danish while Azriel Azhar raced to third, his second podium finish of the weekend.

The Promotional Class race for celebrities was also red-flagged after just three laps when actor Shukry Yahaya was turned around on SIC’s main straight right into the path of actor and host Hefny Sahad. At the restart, Polis Evo star Zizan Razak immediately pulled 1.8 seconds ahead of actor/host Ezzrin Loy, with Ahirine Ahirudin in third. Zizan had to work very hard to defend his position from Ezzrin, but eventually saw out the win.

It’s a break for now before the Vios one-make race returns at the Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival on September 29. Check out the snaps from the race weekend below.

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