The 2025 season of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) Philippine Cup got off to a high-octane start, with the first race weekend pulling in a crowd of racing fans and car lovers.

Held on 29 March 2025, the event featured tight battles across several race classes. Veteran racer Maila Alivia came out strong, leading the Super Sporting Class, while Jesse Garcia and up-and-comer Luis Moreno topped the Sporting and Novice classes, respectively. Moreno, by the way, is a sim-racing alum from the Vios Cup Autocross Challenge.

This year’s race also welcomed familiar faces in the Legacy Class sprint race. Senator JV Ejercito — yes, that JV — who snagged his first Vios Cup win back in 2017. Paolo Ang, a regular fixture in the podium scene, also returned.

GR car club members brought out their GR Supras, GR 86s and GR Yaris cars to race. The event also had Lexus F SPORT and GR vehicles out in the open for fans to get a closer look.

The real action was on the track. Sprint Race 2 featured a reverse grid rule to shake things up — putting the front runners at the back to see how they’d fight their way forward. John Rey San Diego got pole position in the Novice Class and made the most of it. Meanwhile, in the higher classes, the grid shuffle added some drama. Car trouble knocked Oliver Estrella to the back of the Legacy Class, opening the door for Paolo Ang to charge ahead.

Russel Reyes, another rising name, dominated the Sporting Class with two sprint wins. And Maila Alivia didn’t just win both sprints — she also landed in the top five in the endurance race.

TMP president Masando Hashimoto secured a third-place finish in the Novice Class endurance race. Yes, the head honcho himself suited up and drove.

The Super Sporting Class endurance race gave us a real nail-biter as Mikey Jordan tried to fend off a persistent Alain Gabriel Alzona. After a few gutsy overtakes, Alzona finally slipped past and claimed the spot.

Here are some of the winners:

Novice Class

Sprint Race 1: 1 Luis Moreno, 2 Masando Hashimoto, 3 Pablo Salapantan

Sprint Race 2: 1 John Rey San Diego, 2 Luis Moreno, 3 Masando Hashimoto

Endurance: 1 Luis Moreno, 2 Masando Hashimoto, 3 John Rey San Diego

Legacy Class

Sprint 1: 1 Paolo Ang, 2 Luigi Agustin Co, 3 JV Ejercito

Sprint 2: 1 Paolo Ang, 2 Luigi Agustin Co, 3 Andre Rodrigues

Sporting Class

Sprint 1: 1 Russel Reyes, 2 Julia de los Angeles, 3 Jesse Garcia

Sprint 2: 1 Russel Reyes, 2 Raymond Cudala, 3 Mike Santos

Endurance: 1 Jesse Garcia, 2 Julia de los Angeles, 3 Raymond Cudala

Super Sporting Class

Sprint 1: 1 Maila Alivia, 2 Russel Cabrera, 3 Jarond Mesina

Sprint 2: 1 Maila Alivia, 2 Alain Gabriel Alzona, 3 Russel Cabrera

Endurance: 1 Iñigo Anton, 2 Russel Cabrera, 3 Alain Gabriel Alzona

In the Club Race, winners include:

GR Supra: Angelo Magtoto

GR 86: Christopher Co

GR Yaris: Miguel Antolin

TMP president Masando Hashimoto summed it up nicely: “We want this to be a place where everyone can share their love for cars and motorsports.” Eleven years into the Philippine Cup, Toyota seems to be doing just that.

Next stop: Race Weekend 2, happening in May.