TAMARAWS ON THE LOOSE
Toyota Motor Philippines, along with the rest of the racing community, is again gearing up for another exciting season of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippine Cup.
What TMP has always done (and perhaps never fails to do), year in and year out, for 12 years now, is make these races as exciting as ever.
The carmaker has made over a number of celebrities and transformed them into race car drivers, injected the endurance race, transformed an airstrip into an overnight thrilling makeshift race track, simulated a “Mini-Monaco” at a province down south and many others, not to mention now including race-ready everyday workhorses along with making races into exhilarating “F1 Singapore-like” race festivals.
Speaking of these race festivals, the street race organized at Villar City in Bacoor, Cavite last year drew a record number of 12,500 spectators, along with 10 million viewers online. It was the biggest number of onsite spectators TMP has ever brought together.
That time, fans were able to witness firsthand racers in four classes–Novice, Sporting, Super Sporting and Legacy.
These racers went wheel-to-wheel in three circuit sprint races over one weekend in the 2.4-km long street circuit that had 14 turns, including two hairpins and six chicanes, providing exciting track action for spectators.
TMP president Masando Hashimoto, who raced for the Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippines Novice Team, even made it eventful (if God forbid) that particular race weekend.
Truly making it one big race festival, other than the vibrant Toyota vehicle displays were famous OPM bands, such as Bamboo, Ely Buendia with his ensemble and many others.
For this 2026 season, there will be four race weekends, instead of the usual three. Kicking off all the excitement will be another street race, which is to be staged, this time, at the sprawling grounds of River Park located in General Trias, Cavite.
Another addition to the thrill is the inclusion of Batangas Racing Circuit in Rosario as one of the race venues for this year.
This March 13-15, the 2.4-km makeshift track in River Park will be the venue for the much-anticipated street race. Making things exciting is the official debut of the same-spec Toyota Tamaraw OMRs, which will be going wheel-to-wheel in Sprint Races.
“It will be another thrilling year as we kick off a GRipping and GRitty season of the TGR Philippine Cup,” said Masando in a statement. “By adding new playgrounds in Cavite and Batangas, it will surely make the hearts of all motorsports fans race.”
According to Hashimoto, he recently tried out the Tamaraw OMR in a drift track in Pampanga and was very impressed with what he saw.
“I cannot wait for more people to experience what this car can do when pushed to its limits,” he added.
Joining Masando for the Tamaraw Class are new racers Chenee Jimenez, Alex Lim also known as Banaweboy, Justin Buzzhype, Enzo Ison and Will Lucas. They will be up against former Vios Cup champions from other top racing teams, such as Iñigo Anton, Dominic Ochoa, Alain Alzona and Jesse Garcia.
The Sporting Class, Super Sporting Class, and Legacy Class will also be returning to the streets with the Vios OMR in the Sprint Races in a grid that will be see 30 racers in race action.
To further spice up the festivities, there will also be displays of TMP’s Toyota GR performance vehicles, Lexus favorites, as well as the soon-to-be-launched Toyota vehicles, the RAV4 and Urban Cruiser.
For e-Motorsports fans, sim racing rigs and original GR merchandise will also be made available, Toyota car clubs will likewise get a field day at their usual track day and famous OPM bands will also fill the air with more excitement.
Admission to the public will again be free.
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