Taj Izrin Aiman Clinches Third Toyota Gazoo Racing GT Cup Malaysia E-Sports Title

The Toyota Gazoo Racing GT Cup Malaysia 2023 Grand Finale event was held at Sunway Pyramid, PJ,
last weekend.

The Gazoo Racing GT Cup Malaysia 2023 e-sport finals held last weekend at Sunway Pyramid, Petaling Jaya, saw gamer Taj Izrin Aiman Taj Madira reign supreme over other competitors. The feat saw Taj clinching his third Gazoo Racing e-sport title, taking home RM25,000 in prize money through said effort too.

Taj’s winning sum formed part of the total RM90,500 prize money pool UMW Toyota coffered up for this year's running of its highly successful e-sport or simulator racing (sim-racing) championship series – previously known as TGR Velocity E-Sports Championship.

Whilst past editions of the championship saw competitors battling each other out virtually using the Playstation-exclusive Gran Turismo Sport title, the latest one held last weekend saw the series transition into the newer Gran Turismo 7 follow up instead.

“The event has become extremely competitive with a lot of newcomers,” says Taj who charted won two race wins before placing second in the third and final race. Joining Taj on the rostrum were Dhanesh Wigneswaran in second and Chong Kai Chang in third overall respectively.

800 competitors were pre-selected ahead of the three-day finale, all vying to be named as Malaysia's best sim-racer and a slice of the RM90,500 prize money pool.

Having first joined the series in 2019, this year’s runner up Dhanesh also charted his personal best result in the series as well – he placed fourth overall last year. “I tried very hard to improve my mental game this time round, trying to get into the zone, and to be calm and focused,” said the 22-year-old marketing grad.

Like many of his competitors, Dhanesh aspires to transition from virtual racing to real-world racing, as how past Gazoo Racing e-sport sim-racing ace Mohammad Naquib did. The latter transitioned into a highly competitive Toyota Vios Challenge entrant, even taking overall victoryin last year’s Sepang 1000KM.

Said chance is also perhaps a key driver for Chong who placed third overall last weekend. “It was the idea of competing against the very best racers in Malaysia that really intrigued me,” added the 29-year-old financial analyst turned sim-racing ace who marked his third outing in the series.

By day’s end, all three stood as the very best amongst 800 contenders initially selected to enter last-weekend’s three-day grand finale. Besides deciding the best of this lot, the event also saw members of the public given the chance to have a go at sim-racing themselves through a special time attack slot.

Overall champion Taj Izrin Aiman (centre) flanked by runner-up Dhanesh Wigneswaran (third from left) and third-placed Chong Kai Chang (second from right). Present here too is UMWT President Datuk Ravindran K. (second from left).

Those who were spectating the event were also treated with special appearances plus an exhibition race featuring celebrities from the Gazoo Racing Vios Challenge. Highlighting names included Shukri Yahaya, Zizan Razak, Ain Edruce, Ahirine Ahiruddin, and more.

Apart from which, there was also a display of the newly launched Toyota GR Corolla hot hatch, exclusive Toyota GR merchandise being retailed, as well as test-drive sessions featuring the latest Toyota models like the all-new Vios and Corolla Cross Hybrid.

“The sport has truly and exponentially grown judging by the outstanding pedigree of simulator racing talent we have in Malaysia,” said UMW Toyota Motor President Datuk Ravindran K upon concluding last weekend’s event.