Top 20 Racers Set For The Climax Of The Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship 2021!

Malaysia’s top 20 simulator racers are locked and loaded to hit the finale of the Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship, happening this weekend. Battling through a pool of over 800 contestants, these racers are up for a chance to win a total prize of RM70,000 and the opportunity to represent the country in the GR GT Cup Asia qualifiers.

As a recap, the Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship was first held in 2018, with significant increases in the number of contestants as well as online spectators, with up to 1 million viewers watching the two-day event back in last year. 

For this year, the qualifying rounds were held from August 21 to 29, which then progressed to the quarter-finals on September 4 to 5. Selected top 20 racers will then compete in this weekend’s semi-finals on September 18, and the 10 fastest drivers will be set to race fro the finals happening the next day.

“The momentum and the level of interest for the GR Velocity Esports Championship have grown tremendously in just four years. This is a huge boost for both esports and motorsports and we are glad that we persevered to keep the championship going despite the restrictions faced due to the pandemic,” said UMW Toyota Motor president Ravindran K.

There’s a twist to this year’s finale - it will run completely online from the comfort of each competitor’s home. Utilizing the Sony Playstation’s Gran Turismo Sport platform, spectators can keep up with the action via the Toyota Gazoo Racing Malaysia Facebook and Youtube pages as well as Astro’s eGG Channel.

Additionally, the finale will also see racers currently competing in the Vios Challenge Promotional, Sporting, Super Sporting and Rookie classes taking to simulators for an exhibition race. 

Notable figures joining the exhibition race are Promotional Class drivers Zizan Razak, Nabil Ahmad and Shukri Yahya, alongside guest racer Sharnaaz Ahmad. Meanwhile, the Sporting and Super Sporting Class will consist of Clement Yeo, Tengku Djan Ley and Hayden Haikal, while Naquib Azlan, Putera Adam and Amer Harris will be competing in the Rookie Class. 

The Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship will be offering cash prizes worth RM20,000, RM10,000, RM7,000, RM5,5000, and RM4,500 to the top five winners, respectively. Moreover, prizes will also be awarded to the racers finishing in 6th to 10th place. RM500 will be awarded to racers in the 11th to 20th positions. An additional RM450 and RM200 will also be given to the first and second place winners in each of the two individual races.

The top three winners will be representing Malaysia in the GR GT Cup Asia qualifiers, which is organised by the Toyota Motor Asia Pacific (TMAP). To know more about the competition, head down to the Toyota Gazoo Racing Malaysia website.