Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP), through its motorsports division, Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippines (TRGP) have thrilled Filipino racing enthusiasts with the Toyota Vios Cup for ten years now. To celebrate the milestone, TMP took the long-running motorsports program for a quick retouch, added some cool activities for everyone on or off the track, and renamed it as Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippine Cup (TGR Philippine Cup).
This led to an exciting opening round last July 12-13 at the 4.2 Km long Clark International Speedway in Pampanga, where thousands of live and livestream spectators witnessed the action unfold.
More than 30 racers battled it out for the win, with the best part being TMP President Masando Hashimoto’s surprise reveal of him joining as a racer with the #4 machine under the Novice Class – a new circuit racing class that gathers winners and top performers from the Autocross Challenge.
To spice things up, Hashimoto-San was joined by influencers Lexi Mendiola and Reph Bangsil, media racers Jamil Lacuna, Jose Altoveros, Pablo Salapantan and John Ray San Diego, and sim racer Russel Reyes. Seasoned racers under the Promotional, Sporting, and Super Sporting classes also returned to the track to bring adrenaline-pumping action with 2024 newcomers.
SPRINT RACE 1
As with the previous seasons, the TGR Philippine Cup started off with Sprint Race 1 held on July 12. Weather reports said it would shower at any time of the day. Indeed it did in the latter parts, thus giving the racers an extra challenge. Everyone did the best they could at the end of the day.
Jamil Lacuna, Russel Reyes, and Jose Altoveros finished in that order for the Novice Class. In the Promotional Class, Bong Garbes of Inbox Toyota San Fernando took 1st place, followed by Toyota Team Cebu’s Rex Abrenilla and Johndale Dy in 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
In the Sporting Class, Jiro Garbes, teammate and brother of Bong, came out on top, followed by Jarond Mesina of Toyota Team Cebu in 2nd, and Danzel Waytan of JD Motorsport–Ribbon Arc in 3rd. Finally in Super Sporting Class, JBT Racing/Toyota Isabela’s Red Diwa didn’t hold back to take 1st place against the hard-charging Iñigo Anton of Toyota Balintawak-Obengers Racing Team who settled in 2nd. Joining them in 3rd was Russel Cabrera of Toyota Team Cebu.
SPRINT RACE 2
The race weekend continued the next day, July 13, starting off with Sprint Race 2 in the morning. Amidst the searing heat and humidity, the 30-minute 12-lap race yielded some promising results leading to the big 1.5hr Endurance Race in the afternoon.
The Novice Class saw Russel Reyes and Jamil Lacuna battling head-to-head, with the former outclassing the latter. Meanwhile, John Rey San Diego made a valiant effort to hold the 3rd position until the checkered flag. In Promotional Class, Julia Delos Angeles of Toyota Marilao/San Jose Del Monte-Obengers Racing Team conquered to take 1st, followed by Bong Garbes in 2nd and Rex Abrenilla in 3rd.
Up in the Sporting Class, Happy Hotels Racing Team’s Jay Lao held off Danzel Waytan to take the lead right down to the checkered flag. Witnessing them in 3rd place was Carlo Suarez of Team Toyota Cebu. Meanwhile in Super Sporting Class, Russel Cabrera made it to 1st as Mikey Keilani Jordan of Jordan Racing trailed in 2nd, while Iñigo Anton crossed the line in 3rd.
ENDURANCE RACE
Carrying over from last year’s season finale, the 2024 TGR Philippine Cup also held an Endurance Race in the afternoon, which lasted for 1 hour and 30 minutes. This incorporated compulsory pit stops for tire and driver changes, as well as refueling.
For this particular session, however, mother nature decided to unleash bouts of rain showers that reduced track visibility and tire traction. As a result, several drivers went out of control, requiring multiple safety car outings that have even out the odds.
Under the intermittent rain and tricky track conditions, Russel Reyes, Jamil Lacuna, and Lexi Mendiola took victories in that order in the Novice Class. Meanwhile, Julia Delos Angeles battled the odds to clinch 1st in the Promotional Class, while Bong Garbes and Rex Abrenilla took on a battle of their own, finishing 2nd and 3rd places, respectively.
Up in Sporting Class, Danzel Waytan secured 1st place, followed by Jarond Mesina in 2nd and Carlo Suarez in 3rd. Finally in Super Sporting Class, the Baguio young gun Iñigo Anton took command, outclassing everyone, including Russel Cabrera and his fellow Toyota Team Cebu racer Ian Rosales in 2nd and 3rd places, respectively.
Racing fans can look forward to the second race weekend of the TGR Philippine Cup on September 28, 2024 for more exhilarating action.
For more information on the TGR Philippine Cup, visit https://toyota.com.ph/tgrphilippines. Follow TOYOTA GAZOO Racing on Facebook and Instagram and TMP’s official pages—Toyota Motor Philippines on Facebook and Instagram, ToyotaMotorPH on X, and join the Viber community at Toyota PH for updates.
