The Toyota Gazoo Racing Vios Cup 2022 season has finally come to an end. And this writer commends all the racers, particularly the podium finishers of their respective race categories. Speaking of race category, yours truly was also one of the eager participants of the of the Autocross Challenge Sporting Media category. I — too — have my own fair share of exciting motorsports stories to divulge to you, readers.

First things first, this season has been my third season of joining the Autocross Challenge. Mind you, this is totally different from what I've been used to, which are karts and circuits. I kid you not. The struggle — truly — is real. Like any struggle, it took me three years to finally land a podium spot in this prestigious affair. And it was not for the faint of heart. For leg 1 of this year, to be honest, I performed poorly since I came unprepared for the battle out there on the race track. However, come Leg 2, which was a month apart from the previous one, I had ample time to prepare. And so, I did my homework, doing research and all. In fact, I even enrolled for an autocross practice staged by one of our respected veterans in the industry. So, when D-Day arrived, it did not disappoint. My hard work paid off. I landed third on the podium — finally.

Okay. So, after landing a third place finish last Leg 2, I pledged to do even better on my next races. I actually even mentioned this on my column: "From wall to the podium" last 28 August 2022, saying the words: "I couldn't wait to even place better the next time around."

To cut the story short, I did on the last and final leg of this prestigious racing affair. I placed second. Well, I was actually gunning for the top spot. But, I guess, I'm not ready for that yet.

Epic finale
To further elaborate the much-concluded Toyota Gazoo Racing Vios Cup finale, here's a brief summary of it.

Around 55 racers across the Super Sporting, Sporting, and Promotional classes of Circuit Championship and Autocross Challenge all gathered at the Clark International Speedway for the ultimate finale of this year's season.

The rains even made the racing action out there on the track much exciting to watch.

For Race 9's Promotional Class Winners, it was Jay Lao of OTR Racing Team who ultimately won the top podium spot, with Ian Rosales of Toyota Team Cebu placing second, and Alain Alzona of Alzona Racing Team taking the third spot.

Sporting Class racer Joaquin Garrido of the Obengers Racing Team won Race 9, with Michael Keilani Jordan of Jordan Racing Team finishing second, and Jiro Garbes of Toyota San Fernando completing the top 3.

It was likewise a weekend to remember for the Obengers Racing Team as Inigo Anton also captured the top spot for Race 9's Super Sporting Class, with Red Diwa finishing second, and John Dizon, also from Obengers Racing, making it in third.

Meanwhile, for my fellow racers in the Autocross Challenge, this what transpired.

For the Media Promotional Class, Pablo Salapantan still finished on top, with Siegwald Go placing second and Riz Javier claiming the third spot. Media Sporting Class saw Jan Lacuna keeping his podium spot, with yours truly and Kevin Franciso finishing second, and third respectively.

The influencers also showed some grit. Bringing home the Promotional Class top spot was Miguel Romulo, who bested two other strong contenders, Ashley Gosiengifiao, who finished second, and Carla Lizardo, who took third place.

One the other hand — surprisingly — in a quick turn of events, Enzo Pineda took home the championship trophy, upsetting Influencer Sporting Class and defending champion, Jules Aquino by just .03 seconds. Aaron Villaflor — meantime — claimed the third spot on the pdoium.

In the GR GT Cup Class of Autocross Challenge, Russel Reyes showed championship caliber and aced his run. Jether Miole finished second, while Mark Elman claimed the third spot.
Again, congratulations to everyone!