Freddie Ang, Bradley Benedict Anthony and Shukri Yahaya claimed victory in Race Two of the Super Sporting, Sporting and Promotional classes respectively in the Toyota Vios Challenge at Batu Kawan Stadium in Penang yesterday.
In the Super Sporting class, Telagamas Toyota’s Freddie clinched the win ahead of Toyotsu’s William Ho and defending champion Boy Wong.
Freddie made a brilliant getaway from the front of the grid to lead the 22-lap race from start to finish.
“I had a good start. William was close behind, but I managed to maintain a good pace to the finish line. It was also tough due to the heat today (yesterday),” said Freddie, who is currently third in the standings with two rounds remaining.
The battle was also intense in the Sporting class with two safety car incidents, which subsequently decided the race winner.
Starting at the front of the grid, S&D Tama Motorsports’ Tom Goh led into the first corner ahead of Dream Chaser’s 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 six-car pileup. At the restart, which was held behind the safety car, four of the 16 cars were eliminated.
Tom continued his dominant drive after the restart and built a gap of more than two seconds.
In the final stages of the race, A. Shanmuganathan spun his vehicle on the track which brought out the safety car for the second time.
This virtually erased whatever gap Tom had worked on with two laps to finish.
Bradley took the lead two corners from the chequered flag and claimed his first-race victory of the season. Tom and Haji Sutan finished second and third, respectively.
“I would like to thank my parents, my brother (Brendan Paul), sponsors, and the entire team for this win. Starting from third on the grid, I didn’t expect to win, especially on a tight circuit,” said Bradley.
In the promotional class, Shukri, 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 on the grid to second place, passing singers Nabila Razali and Wany Hasrita.
Actress Janna Nick made then most of her pole position to lead the race for two laps before having to yield to Shukri.
By the fourth lap, Nabil too made a move to claim second from Janna, who by then had to fend off a challenge from Shawn.
Janna defended well on the track but slight contact with Shawn four laps from the finish spun her around onto the oncoming traffic.
“I wasn’t expecting to win, but I pounced on the opportunity when Wany and Nabila made slow starts,” said Shukri.
“It is my first win this season, and I’m really pleased with it.”
For fans in Penang, the excitement of the TGR Festival included test driving Toyota’s new vehicles, a drift performance by Japanese drifters, a racing simulator challenge, stage games, celebrity performances, promotional activities, lucky draws and sale of merchandises.
The final day of the TGR Festival kicked off with a fun run and a Zumba fitness session.
All vehicles purchased during the two-day event also came with a RM200 complimentary service voucher.
RESULTS — Promotional class: 1 Shukri Yahaya, 2 Nabil Ahmad, 3 Shawn Lee, 4 Diana Danielle, 5 Nabila Razali.
Sporting class: 1 Bradley Benedict Anthony (Dream Chaser), 2 Tom Goh (S&D Tama Motorsports), 3 Haji Sutan Mustaffa (SMS Motorsports), 4 Adam Khalid (Crestmax Motorsports), 5 Kenneth Koh (Panglima City Racing Team).
Super Sporting class: 1 Freddie Ang (Telagamas Toyota), 2 William Ho (Toyotsu), 3 Boy Wong, 4 Syafiq Ali (M7 Japan Project Team), 5 Mark Darwin (Laser Motor Racing).