On the back of Season 3 of the Gazoo Racing Vios Challenge this year, Toyota hasn’t forgotten the virtual side of things that it inaugurated last year with the Toyota Gazoo Racing Velocity eSports Championships.
Season 2 of virtual racing will be returning once again this year as Toyota aims to cement its status as the first Malaysian car company to be associated with the fast-growing eSports racing. Favourable response from participants and public has led to the carmaker continuing its support for the game.
The Velocity eSports Championship compliments the high-performance activities of Toyota, including the on-track racing of Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival.
These activities have laid the foundation for much bigger things, chiefly the introduction of the GR Supra and GR Garage which will also be launched in the near future.
“We’re very delighted with the overwhelming response from the public towards our very first Toyota Gazoo Racing Velocity eSports Championship last year, which was one of the largest in the country. We’re confident that it will be more challenging this year, as more talented drivers would want to compete in the competition,” said Ravindran K., President of UMW Toyota Motor.
Last year’s quickest and fastest simulator driver was Muhammad Uzair S Abdul Nasir Khan, followed by first runner-up Mior Muhammad Hafiz Mior Lahmudin and second runner-up Aiman Haziq Aidi.
This year, the championship is open to all Malaysians aged 18 and above. The racers will have to go through a time-trial phase at Cove eSports in Bandar Sunway, Subang Jaya, Selangor on 31 August/1 September and 14-15 September 2019. From there, the top 40 racers with the fastest laps will then be eligible to enter the grand finals at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur (Centre Court) on 21-22 September from 10am to 9pm.
Once again, all participants pilot the latest 2019 Toyota GR Supra, Toyota’s flagship sportscar developed not only for the real motorsports but also for the competition in Gran Turismo eSports. The circuit of choice will Fuji Speedway in virtual Japan; a 1.475km long circuit with one of the longest straights in the world.
The top 10 will qualify for a head-to-head 10-lap race on a best-of-three tracks comprising Kyoto Driving Park, Suzuka Circuit and the aforementioned Fuji. This year’s winners will share from a larger prize pool of RM70,000.
Thrustmaster will supply its T-GT ultimate racing simulator for Gran Turismo Sport and also for future Gran Turismo games. For information and registration, members of the public can visit https://toyotavelocity.com.
