BUILDING GRASSROOTS MOTORSPORTS

A COUPLE of weekends back, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMP) held the second leg of their now-celebrity-status racing series, the Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) GR Cup.This leg was a street race — one of the toughest formats to run a sprint on, given the lack of efficiency and built-in run-offs found on a proper racetrack. It was narrow, fast, and full of tight, technical corners that were difficult to navigate.I should know. I raced one of these grueling weekends back when the series was still called the Vios Cup, held at the now heavily developed McKinley Hill section of Fort Bonifacio, now known as Bonifacio Global City or BGC.0The heat was unforgiving, and many cars didn't make it out unscathed. In fact, a racing incident even took out the car of TMP President Masando Hashimoto.Hashimoto-san emerged more shaken than hurt, thanks to the cabin structure absorbing the brunt of the impact and keeping him safe inside.But the adrenaline and excitement of the street race were not lost on Filipino petrolheads. Around 10,000 race and car enthusiasts came out to watch the weekend event. It certainly helped that Rico Blanco took the concert stage on the first night, followed by Ely Buendia and the Eraserheads on the second.Even while watching the concerts, the crowd buzzed about the races — reliving the chases, overtakes, close calls, bumps, and crashes on the street circuit.What piqued my curiosity was the presence of executives from other car brands — some representing direct competitors to Toyota — among the invited guests.Curiosity getting the better of me, I asked Jing Atienza, TMP executive vice president, why all the rival brand execs were at the race. Jing explained they were invited to explore ways of collaborating with TMP to help grow motorsport in the Philippines.Back during the first leg of the GR Cup at the Clark International Speedway, Hashimoto-san had already hinted at expanding Toyota's racing efforts into other disciplines — hence the integration of an endurance race component into the series.Now, Jing told me that Sherwin Chualim, TMP senior vice president for marketing, is dreaming even bigger — he wants to involve other car brands in the GR Cup, turning it into a multi-brand racing series that includes competitors' vehicles.I told him the idea was wild. Toyota is seriously thinking of evolving the GR Cup — from its origins as a one-make Vios Cup — into something like Formula 1 or Nascar, with multiple brands battling it out on the track.In Sherwin's vision, this won't just be a one-make race anymore. It will be a full-blown motorsport weekend for Filipino fans and racers, featuring a parade of car brands all gunning for top honors — not just bragging rights, but possibly even trophies and technical superiority.Sherwin and Jing said the event could still include individual one-make races as "front acts" leading up to the main multi-brand showdown.This isn't far-fetched. Formula 1 and Nascar weekends work exactly the same way. BMWs, Fords, Mazdas, and GTRs all have their own support races before the main event, making the entire race weekend more exciting and explosive.Jing said TMP wants to act as the facilitator. They'll still run their own GR Cup but will also serve as the platform for the larger multi-brand race weekend — organized and managed under the oversight of the Automobile Association of the Philippines (AAP), the FIA's official local affiliate.If TMP pulls this off, grassroots motorsport in the Philippines will get a huge boost — possibly enough to put more Filipino drivers on the global stage.Marlon Stockinger came close, having been a member of the Renault F1 Junior Team. So why not one more ... or two ... or five?

2025-06-09T18:09:44Z