Toyota ends milestone TGR Philippine Cup 2025

The country’s best-selling automobile brand, Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP), has officially closed its 2025 season of TMP’s premier racing series, the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Philippine Cup (TGR Philippine Cup).

Hailed as home to some of the country’s finest drivers, the TGR Philippine Cup is Toyota’s premier one-make race series in the country.

During its closing extravaganza, notable car racers, namely Russel Cabrera from Toyota Team Cebu — Standard Insurance, Jesse Garcia from Obengers Racing — Toyota Balintawak, and Luis Moreno from the Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippines Novice Team, secured the overall championship in their respective classes after three race weekends.

On 9 August, the third and final race weekend was held at the Clark International Speedway in Mabalacat, Pampanga, followed by the awarding of the overall season winners.

Circuit debut

The Tamaraw one-make-race (OMR) concept made its circuit debut in the Tamaraw Sprint Race Exhibition during the race weekend, where former Vios Cup champions Allan Uy, Daniel Miranda, Estefano Rivera, John Dizon, and GR Development Driver Aaron Guevara got behind the wheel to push the locally made Tamaraw to the limits.

The concept vehicle logged an average lap time of 2 minutes and 30 seconds, similar to the Vios CVT OMRs used by the Novice Class.

It further showcased its capabilities as a racing vehicle when it crossed the finish line faster than a GR 86 and Vios OMR Legacy Class car during the Drag Race.

“Since the Tamaraw OMR Concept’s debut in Race Weekend 2, we’ve made significant upgrades focused on safety and handling. As the first country to develop an OMR vehicle, it’s challenging, and we have a lot of work ahead of us, but so far, we are impressed with the performance of the Tamaraw this weekend,” according to TMP GR Section supervisor JC Gaon.

Return of the Endurance Race

The race weekend was filled with other thrilling activities, such as the return of the Endurance Race, where TMP president Masando Hashimoto secured his maiden win.

Vios OMR racers also went head-to-head in the Sprint Race, while owners of the GR Yaris, GR Supra, and GR 86 battled it out in the Club Race.

It was also during the race weekend that the TGR Philippines eSports GT Championship 2025, TMP’s premier e-motorsports tournament, kicked off its qualifiers. Participants logged in their fastest times for a chance to move up to the next round and become the next sim racing champion.

A thrilling year

“It has been a thrilling year. From the introduction of the Legacy Class during Race Weekend 1 to the unforgettable Race Weekend 2 city street race and sprint race debut of the Tamaraw OMR Concept during Race Weekend 3, we can say the 2025 season is one for the books. We would like to thank all the racers, racing teams, sponsors, media partners, fans, and everyone else who made this racing series possible. Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippines will continue to bring more exciting activities. We hope you look forward to them,” said TMP assistant vice president for Marketing Services Andy Ty.