RISE OF THE YOUNG DRIVERS UNSTOPPABLE IN ROUND 1 OF THE 2025 VIOS CHALLENGE
2025 VIOS CHALLENGE SHAH ALAM, 27 April 2025 — Round 1 of the 2025 Vios Challenge concluded with some mighty fierce on-track action which saw the younger generation of racers outpacing the accomplished veterans.
The opening round of the year saw a total of 36 racers, including one from Thailand and Singapore, competing in three individual classes of racing: Super Sporting for professional drivers; Sporting for amateurs; and Rookie for young drivers under Toyota GAZOO Racing Malaysia’s Young Talent Development Program.
In Race 2 of the Sporting Class, it appeared that seasoned driver Dato’ Ken Foo was going to hold off the field of charging young guns but that was not to be the fairy tale story for the Kulim Topwheels driver. Foo only managed to hold on to his race lead for three of the 20 laps around the Petronas Sepang International Circuit before coming under severe attack.
Leading from pole position, Foo had a great start but had his hands full trying to fend off a train of battling young drivers who included BAE Racing by ES Yang’s Elson Lew; Axle Sports’ Brandon Ho; S&D Tama Motorsports’ Mika Hakimi; G-Mart Motorsport’s Adam Mikail; TD Racing’s Raja Amirul Syauqat; Saksama Motorsports’ Taj Izrin Aiman; and Thai driver Monai driving for RUK Team Nexzter PMC 52.
The all important move eventually came in Lap 3 when Ho passed Foo for the lead but his position at the front was short lived after being dragged into a situation involving five cars which dropped him into the midfield. That incident returned the lead to Foo but only for another five laps until Lew and Taj Izrin shot pass for the top two positions.
Lew held on to the lead until the chequered flag to win, but finishing just 1.9 seconds ahead of Taj Izrin, with Ho eventually making his way back into contention to cross the finish line in third. Ho however, was later handed a post race penalty for a sporting infringement which promoted Thai driver Monai into third place.
“I was just trying to be consistent throughout the race and waited for the frontrunners to make mistakes,” said Lew.
For Taj Izrin who completed his first ever one-make series saloon car race weekend with two podium finishes – a 3rd place in Race 1 and 2nd in Race 2 – the start of the season has been simply phenomenal and unexpected.
“I’d like to thank my team for a great race weekend. I made a mistake at the start, I was a bit nervous and I had to calm down. I told myself I had 20 laps to catch up and that was precisely what I did,” said Taj Izrin.
The professionals in the Super Sporting Class were also engaged in fierce and similar battle but eventually it was Prima Pearl TD Racing driver and former Super Sporting champion Mitchell Cheah who prevailed to take victory. Second place went to Wheelcorp’s Nabil Azlan who also made it two podium finishes in two races over the weekend (3rd in Race 1), with Laser Motor Racing’s Eddie Lew clinching third.
Action on the track was almost reminiscent of that witnessed in the Sporting Class with celebrated veteran driver Lew only managing to hold on to the race lead for eight laps before having to concede to the younger drivers behind.
With two full course yellow flags momentarily disrupting the session, Cheah and Nabil seized the opportunity to catch Lew off guard to catapult into the top two positions.
“We were good in practice and even during qualifying but when it came to Race 1 I suffered a technical issue and struggled to finish,” said Cheah.
“We managed to rectify the issue for Race 2 and it was great to start from 8th on the grid and climb all the way to the top to give the team the result they truly deserved. I am just as determined to do my very best to win the overall championship for the second time. I still have a very long way to go this season so we’ll see how it goes.”
The battle of the Rookie Class meanwhile, saw simulator racer Ian James storm to victory from the start to finish more than 13 seconds ahead of karter and 18-year-old Aydan Khaliq who raked up his second successive second place win over the weekend; with 20-year-old Genevieve Ooi, the only female in the class coming in third.
“Honestly I just tried to stay consistent to the end of the race and to preserve the car,” said 22-year-old Ian. “I had somewhat of a good start but it was difficult to shake off the other rookies.”
For Genevieve, the result in Race 2 was uplifting considering she finished down the pecking order in Race 1.
“I told myself I needed to keep the driving clean and smooth from start to finish. I was fortunate to steer clear of the incidents happening ahead of me and capitalized on the opportunity when it presented itself,” said Genevieve.
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For more information on race schedules, driver details and updates, visit: www.toyota.com.my/en/tgrmalaysia for full
ROUND 1, RACE 2 RESULTS
SUPER SPORTING CLASS
- Mitchell Cheah Prima Pearl TD Racing
- Nabil Azlan Wheelcorp
- Eddie Lew Laser Motor Racing
SPORTING CLASS
- Elson Lew BAE Racing by ES Yang
- Taj Izrin Aiman Saksama Motorsports
- Monai RUK Team Nexzter PMC 52
ROOKIE CLASS
- Ian James
- Aydan Khaliq
- Genevieve Ooi
