Vios Challenge turns up heat in Sepang
Departing from its usual 10-lap sprint format on a shortened circuit, Round 2 saw all 36 drivers across three classes start together on the full 5.543 km length of the iconic Petronas Sepang International Circuit, doubling the challenge for every competitor.
Adding to the international flair, the grid featured racers from Thailand, Singapore and India.
The Vios Challenge was made even more special with UMW Toyota Motor and Toyota Gazoo Racing Malaysia's title sponsorship of the Malaysian round of the Super GT series.
In the Super Sporting Class for professionals, Laser Motor Racing's Eddie Lew jumped into an early lead as soon as the race got underway, getting ahead of Wheelcorp's Nabil Azlan.
Pole sitter and Laser Motor Racing's second driver Ady Rahimy Rashid dropped seven places into eighth position.
Nabil, however, punched into the lead by the third lap with Telagamas Toyota's Freddie Ang moving into second position as Lew also dropped into third by the halfway mark of the race.
In the end, it was Ang who claimed the chequered flag ahead of Nabil with Toyotsu Racing's William Ho a further 18 seconds behind in third place.
"The initial plan was to attack in the second half of the race but as things unfolded in the race, it went from this to getting to the front and trying to pull away.
"In a one-hour race it is extremely challenging and it is critical to manage both the car and tyres," said Ang, who finished the 20-lap race a mere 0.7 seconds ahead of Nabil.
"He (Nabil) was on my rear bumper the entire time and every time I tried to pull away he was right there with me. I couldn't do anything more and so I settled for being defensive and trying to just stay ahead.
"To be honest it was very taxing on the body, especially with the heat. We are all so used to the sprint race and therefore the second 30-minute stint this weekend really had you feeling body fatigue…it was extremely hot."
The Sporting Class for amateurs, meanwhile, was dominated by Hong Huat & Armada KK Racing's Jwan Hii who delivered a dominant drive to finish eight seconds ahead of Kulim Top Wheels' Datuk Dr Ken Foo.
In third place was Thai driver Varunchit Wattanathanakun representing RUK Team Nexzter PMC 52.
The race was essentially Hii's from start to finish as he dominated from pole position to post the fastest lap time of 2 min: 52.409 seconds.
Down the field in the Rookie Class, drama unfolded in the penultimate stages of the race as Aydan Khaliq took victory ahead of Rahul Dev, with Harkiesh Geeva in third position.
Harkiesh and Aydan had been trading places for the race lead and with several minutes left to the finish, the former had been poised for what appeared to be certain victory until a mechanical problem denied him of the top spot on the podium.
"To be honest, I was very fortunate to finish where I did after Harkiesh lost his third gear despite leading the race for quite a fair bit. But that is part and parcel of racing," said Aydan.
"Racing on the full track was also a bit more tiring…Mentally I was fit enough but after competing in the GR86 Cup Malaysia race I practically had to rush to the starting grid for the Vios Challenge.
"Nevertheless, competing on a Super GT race week is excellent exposure not only for me as a rookie but the entire Vios Challenge series as it projects local talent and racing internationally," he added.
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