Toyota Motor Philippines is inviting the whole nation to support the Philippine team in the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Gran Turismo (TGR GT) Cup 2022 Asia Regional Finals, livestreaming across participating Asia Pacific countries on October 29, 6PM PH time.
Fans and supporters can watch Team Toyota Philippines as they race alongside the toughest e-racers in Asia via the Toyota Motor Philippines and TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Philippines Facebook pages. Those who will watch and post their cheers during the broadcast may even get a chance to win exciting prizes.
Filipino e-racing champs Estefano Rivera, Russel Reyes, and Topher Tejada are combining their strengths and putting their minds together to prepare to race against the top e-racers of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand.
Behind the champions
After the thrilling local rounds of the TGR GT Cup Philippines 2022, Estefano, Russel, and Topher headed to the National Round, where they earned the spots to join the next level. Estefano took first place in the Sporting Class, with Russel coming right behind him. Meanwhile, Topher claimed the championship in the Promotional Class, completing the three players who would go on to represent the country in the Asia Regional Rounds as Team Toyota Philippines.
With each representative coming from different yet competitive motorsports backgrounds, the Team Toyota Philippines roster promises a lot of potential.
Before trying his hand at e-racing, Estefano experienced victory on the actual tracks as a professional racer. In 2021, he was hailed the Super Sporting Class Champion of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Vios Cup, Toyota Motor Philippines’ premier one-make race series. He has various other motorsport credentials under his belt as well such as winning the 2018 National Gymkhana and being named Slalom King at the 2019 National Slalom Championship.
Russel is no newbie when it comes to e-motorsports either. Since starting his e-motorsports career in 2019, he has won several championship titles both locally and abroad. Aside from the TGR GT Cup, Russel has participated in other e-motorsports competitions such as the GSR E-Motorsports Series and Asian Endurance Series 2021, where he has shown his skill in both circuit and endurance races.
Despite being new to the e-motorsports world with the TGR GT Cup 2022 as his first e-racing competition, Topher does not let his nerves get the better of him. In the local rounds, he showed that newbies too have what it takes to take to win, immediately joining the winners’ podium at third place in the last round of the local rounds before climbing up the leaderboard and finishing first under the Promotional Class at the National Round.
Asia finals tournament format
The Asia Regional Round will have two rounds – the semifinals, and finals. For the semifinals, 20 players will compete in three groups, racing at the virtual Fuji International Speedway using the GR Yaris. From this, the top five racers from each group will proceed to the three-round final race, starting with the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with the GR Supra 20. They will then race the GR Supra GT4 on Germany’s iconic Nürburgring GP. Finally, for the third and final round, racers will take on the challenging Circuit De La Sarthe in France with the GR010 Hybrid Hyper Car.
Each country’s race car will showcase a design expressing the fun and colorful cultures of the country, translating in the speed and thrill of every turn in the game.
Team Toyota Philippines’ in-game race car will be dressed in a special livery inspired by the Philippine flag. Designed by Filipino graphic artist Nez Yumul, the livery features banderitas reminiscent of Philippine festivals in the colors of red, yellow, blue, and white.
Team Toyota Philippines is ready to dominate the e-tracks with the support of its official connectivity provider, PLDT Enterprise.
Follow Team Toyota Philippines’ journey to take home the glory at the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Asia Regional Finals through Toyota Motor Philippines and TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Philippines on Facebook, ToyotaMotorPH on Twitter and Toyota PH on Viber.
