SEPANG: The final race of the Toyota Vios Challenge race series drew to a close with the crowning of three new champions in the Super Sporting (professionals), Sporting (amateurs) and Promotional (celebrity) classes at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC).

Two cautious but tactical finishes in two races over the final weekend of the season were enough to crown Boy Wong Yew Choong (car 21) of team ST Wangan Racing as Season 2’s overall champion in the Super Sporting Class with a total of 95 points.



Wong was already in the lead with 79 points before heading to the North Track of SIC for Round 4 of the race series and managed to finish Saturday's Race 1 in third place and Sunday's Race 2 in seventh place to earn him 16 points to become the overall champion.

Taking first place on the final day of racing (Sunday - Race 2) was Kegani Racing's William Ho (car 39) who fought a hard battle after leading the 20-lap race from pole to finish.

“I wasn’t driving all out in order to conserve the tyres to the end of the race, and thankfully that strategy prevailed,” said Ho.

Ho lead the intense start-to-finish race for Race 2 and was constantly hounded by the drivers of Team Nanoplus - Keifli Othman (car 45) and Eddie Liew (car 9).

Midway through the race, Liew finally managed to get past teammate Keifli for second place.

While Liew and Keifli traded paint at the front, Laser Motor Racing’s Alif Hamdan (car 63) was getting faster with each consecutive lap and even managed to get past Keifli for third.

Alif’s challenge for second place, however, did not come until the very last lap but Liew kept his cool to retain track position and crossed the finish line second, just 2.4 seconds behind the race winner Ho.

Second overall in the championship was Kegani Racing’s William Ho with a total of 86 points while Dream Chaser’s Brendan Paul Anthony (Car 91) completed the four-round season in third with 73 points.

In the Sporting Class for amateur drivers, Tedco Racing’s Brendon Lim Boon Yew (car 86) claimed the overall championship with a total of 86 points.

This was just one point ahead of ST Wangan Racing Team’s Eric Yong Boon Pin (car 22) with 85 points, while third overall was Panglima City Racing Team’s Kenneth Koh (car 28) with 81 points.

Lim was in commanding form and kept much of his cool during a heated Race 2 to finish the 20-lap race with more than 11 seconds ahead of the pack to claim his first ever victory of the season.

“I’ve had a very challenging Season 2 with several misfortunes, technical problems and collisions and I told myself that I needed at least one race win before the season comes to a close. Thankfully, that came true today,” said Lim.

Yong crossed the finish line in second place for his second consecutive podium over two days of racing after finishing in third during the previous day's Race 1.

 

Coming in third for Race 2 was Kulim Top Wheels’ Datuk Ken Foo (Car 10) who thwarted a last-minute challenge from 14-year-old Hayden Haikal (Car 11).



“I’ve enjoyed every moment of racing in the Toyota Vios Challenge over the last two seasons. It has certainly improved my driving and I’m looking forward to be back next season,” said Foo.

As for the Promotional Class for celebrities, local actress Diana Danielle (car 15) was crowned overall champion with a total of 100 points and became the first woman to clinch the title.

Finishing second and third overall were singers Aiman Tino (car 77) with 94 points and Akim Ahmad (car 46) with 92 points respectively.

However, it was a series of firsts for the top three winners with local singer Khai Bahar (car 94) racing to his first ever race victory of the season.



He was joined by fellow singer Wany Hasrita (car 8) and UMW Toyota Motor deputy chairman Akio Takeyama (car 1) making their maiden appearances on the podium in second and third places respectively.

“To find myself leading the race and eventually winning is absolutely unreal and to be honest I was really nervous. It has been a fantastic and eye-opening experience for me and all my fellow celebrities to have had the opportunity to participate in the Toyota Vios Challenge,” said Khai.

The second season of the Toyota Vios Challenge consisted of four rounds held in four different venues throughout Malaysia with a total of 8 races.

The event opened at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Kuala Terengganu, before moving to the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park
Serdang (MAEPS) in Selangor and was followed by the Batu Kawan Stadium in Penang, before heading to SIC.

“It has certainly been a successful Season 2 for us, and I am pleased to say that the Toyota Gazoo Racing branding has generated a tremendous amount of awareness. We look forward to continuing with this initiative as long as possible in Malaysia,” said Takeyama.