Toyota Vios Gold Championship Round 3: Title Fight Wide Open Ahead Of October Finale

The battle for the Season 9 Toyota Vios Gold Championship is set for a thrilling finale after an action-packed Round 3 at the Petronas Sepang International Circuit saw championship leaders come under pressure from emerging contenders.

Formerly known as the Toyota Vios Challenge, the one-make racing series raised the stakes with a one-hour endurance race, double championship points and, for the first time this season, all 37 cars from the Super Sporting, Sporting and Rookie classes sharing the full Sepang Circuit.

The longer race format and increased traffic proved challenging for several title contenders, preventing them from extending their championship advantage as new race winners emerged across the three classes.

Freddie Ang Wins Race 1, Bradley Benedict Takes Race 2

In the Super Sporting Class for professional drivers, defending champion Freddie Ang of Telagamas Toyota converted pole position into victory in Race 1, finishing 5.9 seconds ahead of Timothy Yeo (RH Kalulong Motorsport). Former champion Mitchell Cheah (Team Prima Pearl SP Selatan) completed the podium.

Race 2 belonged to Bradley Benedict of PS Harapan Menang, who also started from pole position and controlled the race despite three safety car interruptions.

Although each safety car erased the advantage he had built, Benedict held off Cheah to win by just 0.5 seconds. Kenneth Koh of PCM Group Racing Team finished third.

“I had a good start during the race and just did my best to extend my lead,” said Benedict.

“I was both fortunate and unfortunate with the safety car conditions. Whatever lead I had built up disappeared on three occasions, but I was lucky that I did not have to defend my position throughout the race and had a clear track ahead. The margin of victory may have been small but it was enough to take the race win.”

Sporting Class Produces Different Winners

The Sporting Class also delivered mixed results.

Elson Lew of Hong Huat X Armada KK Racing dominated Race 1, crossing the finish line 10.9 seconds ahead of Taj Izrin Aiman (Saksama Motorsports), while Aditya Patnaik (Axle Sports) finished third.

Patnaik bounced back strongly in Race 2, keeping his composure through multiple safety car periods to secure victory by just 0.3 seconds ahead of Adam Mikail (G-Mart Motorsport). Ariff Azmi (KMS 333 Motorsports) completed the podium.

The win also marked Patnaik’s second consecutive podium finish of the weekend.

Ethen Low Dominates Rookie Class

Sixteen-year-old Ethen Low was the standout performer in the Rookie Class, claiming victories in both races.

He won Race 1 by an impressive 18.7-second margin over Ervin Lim, with Imran Iskandar finishing third.

In Race 2, Low again came out on top, narrowly defeating Megat Damian Ariff by 0.4 seconds, while Ervin Lim finished third.

Three Safety Cars In Dramatic Race 2

Sunday’s second race featured plenty of drama, with the safety car deployed three times following incidents involving Sporting Class competitors.

The first interruption came on lap three after a collision involving Lim Chun Beng (Fokus Racing Team) and Sophia Zara (Super Evergreen Motorsport).

A second safety car period followed on lap 15 after an incident involving Hendra Ade Putra (FIA Boulevard Racing).

Shortly after the restart, another collision involving Loke Yin Yi (Unihub & DMW 1 Motorsport) and Ng Aik Sha (GTA Race Team) on the back straight brought out the safety car once again, with the race eventually ending under caution.

October Finale

With double points already awarded in Round 3, the championship remains finely balanced heading into the fourth and final round in October.

A total prize pool of RM876,000 is on offer in Season 9 of the Toyota Vios Gold Championship, which remains Malaysia’s longest-running manufacturer-organised one-make production saloon car racing series.

Round 3 Winners

Race 1

Super Sporting Class

• Freddie Ang (Telagamas Toyota)
• Timothy Yeo (RH Kalulong Motorsport)
• Mitchell Cheah (Team Prima Pearl SP Selatan)

Sporting Class

• Elson Lew (Hong Huat X Armada KK Racing)
• Taj Izrin Aiman (Saksama Motorsports)
• Aditya Patnaik (Axle Sports)

Rookie Class

• Ethen Low
• Ervin Lim
• Imran Iskandar

Race 2

Super Sporting Class

• Bradley Benedict (PS Harapan Menang)
• Mitchell Cheah (Team Prima Pearl SP Selatan)
• Kenneth Koh (PCM Group Racing Team)

Sporting Class

• Aditya Patnaik (Axle Sports)
• Adam Mikail (G-Mart Motorsport)
• Ariff Azmi (KMS 333 Motorsports)

Rookie Class

• Ethen Low
• Megat Damian Ariff
• Ervin Lim

CarTok Editor’s Note

The switch to a one-hour race on the full Sepang Circuit showed how endurance, traffic management and consistency can reshape a championship. Drivers who dominated the shorter sprint races earlier in the season suddenly had to deal with lapped traffic, safety car restarts and tyre management, making outright pace only one part of the equation.

The chase for the title is still wide open so October’s finale should be the most exciting and competitive round.