If you’ve always wanted to attend an exhilarating motorsports race such as the F1 (Formula 1) Grand Prix or Moto GP but haven’t had the chance to, don’t worry. The Sepang International Circuit (SIC) is home to Toyota’s GR (GAZOO Racing) Racing Festival and the GR Vios Challenge Racing Series, and best of all, you can attend it for free.
Season 6 of the racing series just concluded on 1 October 2023, so you’ll have to wait till 2024 for the next season, but we have all you need to know about this year’s festival including exciting highlights right here. Let’s check out what this festival is all about and why you should look forward to the next season of the Toyota GAZOO Racing Festival.
What Is the Toyota GAZOO Racing Festival?
The Toyota GR Festival is a motorsport festival that’s already in its sixth year, also called Season 6. Toyota kickstarted the festival in 2017 to develop local motorsport talents with its GR Vios Challenge Racing Series. The festival also brings seasoned and new racing fans together where they can watch thrilling races up close without having to pay for entrance tickets like most Sepang circuit events. It’s completely free of charge!
GR Vios Challenge Racing Series
The highlight of the festival is the Toyota GR Vios Challenge Racing Series in which professional, amateur, new drivers, and celebrities compete to showcase their racing skills. All racers drive identical, race-prepared Toyota Vios cars so you know winning really comes down to skills.
These cars are not regular Toyota Vios GR Sport models but fully modified race cars. They retain the Vios’ 1.5 L engine but are installed with a new suspension system, wheels, tires, manual transmission, exhaust, brakes, and new engine parts. To up the excitement, Toyota also unveiled the race-modified third-generation Toyota Vios which will be officially used starting next season. Here are the four race classes in the racing series.
- Super Sporting: This class is for experienced, professional race drivers. Some popular racers in this class include Mitchell Cheah, Putera Adam, and Tengku Djan Ley.
- Sporting: This class pits amateur race drivers against each other such as Nabil Azlan and Bradley Benedict Anthony.
- Rookie: This class has new and young race drivers looking to build their budding careers in motorsport. Some drivers to pay attention to include Iman Danish and Elson Lew.
- Promotional: This class is where your favorite Malaysian celebrities show off their racing skills. Racers to watch include Zizan Razak, Ezzrin Loy, and Ain Edruce.
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This season, there were three rounds of races with the first round beginning on 18 February and the third round concluding the season on 1 October. You can view the final overall race results here.
Tons of Fun for Festival Goers
Besides watching the race, visitors get to enjoy all kinds of attractions from interactive games to street food.
A Variety of Fun Booths
Booths at the festival include those selling food, clothes, vintage accessories, Hot Wheels and JDM car diecast models, and official merchandise from Toyota and its partners. There were even booths showcasing aftermarket car parts and vintage motorcycle gear, so there’s something for everyone.
Toyota GAZOO Racing Car Line-Up
Being a Toyota event, there were displays of the latest Toyota GR Sport including the Toyota Corolla Cross, Corolla sedan, and Hilux GR Sport, as well as full-fledged GR sports cars including the GR Yaris, GR Corolla, GR86, and GR Supra. Of course, they also displayed the current and next-generation Vios for use in the GR Vios Challenge Racing Series.
Thrilling Interactive Games
For fans who want an interactive experience, there were car racing and bicycle racing simulators, a photo booth, and a reflex board where you can test your reaction time by pressing the flashing buttons as soon as they flash.
Live Concert & Celebrity Meet-and-Greet
Lastly, there were celebrity meet-and-greet sessions and concert performances by top local artists. Performers include hip-hop singer KMY KMO, rapper Luca Sickta, local pop and alt-rock band OAG, Indonesian alt-rock band Iqbal M, and hip-hop artists from 16 Baris featuring Joe Flizzow, MK, SonaOne, ALYPH, AbangSapau, Killa Driz, Sophia Liana, Gard, Pele, Fuego, and DJ CZA.
Media Drive Around Sepang Circuit in a Toyota Vios
To showcase the modified Toyota GR Vios race cars that they use in the racing series and let more people experience driving on the Sepang circuit, Toyota invited members of the media to test-drive their cars, and yours truly got to experience it too.
The Toyota Vios I test-drove had its back seats removed, a full roll cage installed, bucket seats with five-point harnesses, and a race steering wheel, so you know this is a true race car. We were given three laps around half of the circuit, with a professional instructor riding shotgun to guide us around the track, and the experience was priceless.
The modifications done to the car made it that much faster, grippier, and agile – you wouldn’t think that it was just a Toyota Vios. Since I’ve never driven a race car on the Sepang circuit, I planned to go at an easy pace. My instructor helped me familiarize myself with the track, guiding me on how to take corners and when to use the right gears, and gave me the confidence to push the car harder on the track despite my unfamiliarity with the vehicle at first.
Despite the “small” engine, the car felt fast and exciting as it could carry its speed through the corners with ease and shoot forward as I floored the pedal on the straight. Some say driving a slow car fast is more fun than driving a fast car slow, and I definitely had a lot of fun in the Vios.
Thank You, Toyota, for Promoting Malaysian Motorsports
The 2023 two-day finale of the Toyota GAZOO Racing Festival saw more than 10,000 spectators and 4 million online viewers tuned in to experience the race and myriad of attractions. In recognition of UMW Toyota Sdn Bhd’s efforts in promoting motorsports to the masses and helping develop future motorsports talent in Malaysia, it received an award from the Motorsports Association of Malaysia (MAM). The award was presented to UMW Toyota President Datuk Ravindran K. by MAM President Tan Sri Mokhzani Mahathir at the season finale of the festival at SIC.
If you love thrilling races, concerts, and wholesome fun for the family, the Toyota GR Festival is definitely worth visiting. In the meantime, if you’re inspired to get a Toyota Vios, check out our large selection on CARSOME or download our app today.
