Sim race podium finishers ready for regional tilt

By Joyce Reyes-Aguila

THREE FILIPINOS are out for international glory after emerging as victors in this year’s Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippines eSports GT Championship, a sim racing tournament staged by Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP). Victor Ancheta was declared national finals champion and will represent the country at the Asia Finals in Thailand, alongside other podium finishers Enzo Ison (second) and Matthew Ang (third).”

“(We have) always championed racing in the country, particularly through our one-make race series, the Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippine Cup,” TMP Vice-President for Marketing Services Elvin Luciano shared exclusively to “Velocity.” He continued, “It has always been our goal to help the local racing community grow. That is why we constantly evolve and expand our programs to open more venues for aspiring racers and car enthusiasts, and to provide platforms where racing talent can be discovered and honed. Esports is one entry point, and just like what we’ve proven in the previous editions of our sim racing tournament, it can open more possibilities to explore more racing tracks and disciplines.”

The Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippines eSports GT Championship commenced with national qualifiers from Aug. 9 to Sept. 14. Mr. Luciano said TMP opened some of their dealerships nationwide for aspiring racers to join the early rounds of the competition. The top 40 sim racers advanced to the quarterfinals that determined the 20 players who participated in the semifinals at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay last Oct. 11 and 12. The competitions were played on the PlayStation 5’s Gran Turismo 7 game. Messrs. Ancheta, Ison, and Ang will be representing the country in the TGR Asia eSports GT Championship in Thailand this year.

“TMP will be with the winners every step of the way until they compete at the Asia Finals, from the training sessions to their actual competition,” the executive added. “We are hoping our past eSports champions-turned-TGR Philippines racers Luis Moreno and Russel Reyes can also inspire and mentor them. The winners are representing Team Philippines now and we know how passionate Filipinos are when it comes to representation on the international stage, so the Asia Finals is something we should really prepare for. Beyond the international competition, we are also expecting to see them in our other TGR programs like the TGR Academy and, hopefully soon, in our actual TGR driving and racing events.”

Mr. Ancheta came away with the championship after amassing 72 points, followed by Mr. Ison (67.5), and Mr. Ang (61.5). Completing the Top 11 are Michael Vincent Velasquez, Jether Miole, Corwin Mercado, Jon Chua, Alonso Lacambra, James Patrick Lopez (who qualified via a wild-card round), James Michael Ortiz, and Russo Formoso.

During the virtual race weekend, spectators also had a chance to see TMP vehicles from the GR Performance line as well as the Vios and Tamaraw OMR (one-make race) cup cars up close. An original GR merchandise store and activities for Toyota fans of all ages were also available to the public.

In an interview last August during the Toyota Vios Cup race in Clark, Pampanga, Mr. Luciano emphasized to “Velocity” that Toyota Gazoo Racing has always been about community. “We are building racing communities, the car culture in the country,” he had said. “(We aspire) for TGR to be a venue, not just for Toyota fans or Toyota customers to enjoy, but also to gather like-minded people and to have that one venue for all the race enthusiasts in the country to feel that they belong.”