After a cliffhanger ending, Toyota ended the suspense last night by crowning the first ever Vios Cup Philippines champ in a glitzy affair that saw a a driver not old enough to drive on the road, but tough enough to win on the track, drive away with the championship in a brand new Vios.
As the race was red flagged after just 7 racing laps out of 20, nobody was sure what the final result would be, as it all came down to whether or not half points or no points would be awarded. Toyota cited article 32B of the Vios Cup rule book, which states that in the case where the race does not make 50% plus one lap, drivers and teams will be awarded half points, which was just enough to see the 15-year old crowned the first Vios Cup champion last night in the official awarding ceremony at 71 Grammercy.
Pauland Dumlao's back-to-back wins catapulted him to 2nd, which came with a 400,000 peso cash prize, while championship leader heading into the final round, Jason Choachuy, was forced to settle for 3rd, with a 200,000 peso cash prize.
Toyota Motors Philippines president, Michinobu Sugata also dropped two bombshells in his speech. First, he confirmed that the 2015 Vios Cup is a go, and most likely "out of Luzon" which prompted rumours about another street race in Cebu, and second, much to the delight of the audience, that his term as president has been extended again.
To commemorate, Toyota, TRS and I helped put together a short, sub 8-minute, season in review for you. Watch it and tell me that you don't want to be part of the most exciting grid in Philippine motor sport history.
