The first race weekend of the 2025 season is dedicated to celebrating cars and motorsports with the Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippine Cup

New GR Yaris makes public debut, GR performances cars push their limits in the Club Race

With the first racing weekend of the year, Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) is off to an exciting 2025 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Philippine Cup season. Jesse Garcia is now leading the Sporting Class, and Maila Alivia, a seasoned racer, is leading the Super Sporting Class. Luis Moreno, a Sim racer and Vios Cup Autocross Challenge alumnus, is at the top of the Novice Class standings.

The Legacy Class sprint events also featured competition from former Vios Cup racers. Paolo Ang, the 2021 and 2023 Sporting Class runner-up, and Senator JV Ejercito, who won his maiden Vios Cup race in 2017, are notable competitors in this race category.

The weekend also saw GR car club members competing in sprint races for the first time in the racing series’ history. Dubbed the Club Race, the event highlighted Toyota’s philosophy of bringing thrill and joy to customers through one-of-a-kind fan experiences.

GR performance and Lexus car owners also took to the track their vehicles for the Track Day. Fans of Toyota’s GR lineup and Lexus’ F SPORT series also got to see the vehicles up close at the display area.

In the activity area, event goers enjoyed freebies and prizes from the sponsors’ booths and got to try their hand at remote control and sim racing. There were also diecast collectibles for sale.

The highlight of the race weekend remained the circuit races, with Sprint Race 2 applying a reverse grid rule for added excitement. The starting grid was based on the results of Sprint Race 1. For the Novice Class, only P1 to P4 were reversed, putting John Rey San Diego in pole position for Sprint Race 2.

The Legacy, Sporting and Super Sporting classes reversed the full grid, putting Oliver Estrella in pole position for the Legacy Class, Mike Santos for the Sporting Class, and Iñigo Anton for the Super Sporting Class.

Car damage relegated Oliver Estrella to the back of the grid, allowing Paolo Ang to take the lead in the Legacy Class. In the Sporting Class, Novice Class graduate Russel Reyes made his way to the front of the pack to take his second sprint win of the season.

Maila Alivia solidified her position as a championship contender in the Super Sporting Class by winning both sprint races of the weekend, and a top five finish in the endurance race.

Meanwhile, in the Novice Class, TMP President Masando Hashimoto manage to secure third place after taking advantage of a runoff by Pablo Salapantan, earning him his second podium finish of the weekend.

Intense wheel-to-wheel action also took place in the Super Sporting Class endurance race as Mikey Jordan and Alain Gabriel Alzona faced off for third place. Jordan’s strong defense proved to be a challenge for Alzona, but Alzona would pull through after persistent overtake attempts.

Below is the full list of winners:

 

 

 

“At TGR Philippines, we stay committed to our goal of growing an inclusive and exciting motorsports hub where we can all come together and celebrate our love for cars and motorsports. This year, we are celebrating 11 years of the TGR Philippine Cup, and it is our pride and honor to continue bringing you the thrill and joy that only TGR can bring!” shared TMP President Masando Hashimoto.

Motorsports fans can look forward to Race Weekend 2 happening in May. Tune in to TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Philippines on Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and TikTok for updates.

The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Philippine Cup is brought to you by Official Fuel & Lubricants Partner Petron and Official Tire Partner GT Radial. This event is also backed by Toyota Financial Services Philippines, myTOYOTA Wallet, Denso, AVT, 3M, ROTA, Tuason Racing, OMP, and Kinto One.

Visit https://toyota.com.ph/tgrphilippines for additional details about the TGR Philippine Cup and other TGR events. For updates, follow ToyotaMotorPH’s official pages in Facebook, Instagram, and X. You can also join the Toyota PH Viber community.