Vios Racing Festival is more than just circuit racing

The Vios Racing Festival (VRF) has evolved to more than just racing. The event now focuses on the Waku-Doki – a Japanse phrase that means heart-pumping excitement. Fun can be had by all since Toyota Motor Philippines added more side attractions to the roster for the VRF.

Despite the new additions, the circuit race is still the main attraction. Prior to the start of the races, each of the One Make Race (OMR) cars goes under scrutineering. The method ensures that all the cars are the same. The final check is through the dyno runs. The dyno runs to ensure that the cars are relatively similar to each other in terms of power and the only factor that differs from one another is the driver’s ability. The vehicles are then sent to the grid and arranged based on the qualifying times of the driver.

Another attraction for the racing festival is the Autocross event. Here, competitors are placed on a track and race against the clock. The track is set up in such away that two vehicles can race on the same course together. The current setup, unlike the previous round, lets racers share the course together instead of running on two identical tracks. Here racers are pitted against themselves and the clock. 

Behind the paddocks, there was more fun to be had as the event featured more side attractions for the public. The public had a chance to rest and relax as there were booths featured in the area. There were also standing tables located towards the back of a tent which served as the public’s resting and waiting area. It offered visitors and participants a chance to rest prior to racing. The tent itself was located right next to the main stage where a live feed of the races was being shown.

Towards the back of the tent and located near the standing tables was a mini drift car track. Here kids could drive around the track and experience what it would be like to be racing on a track. Other attractions in the tent were a Bridgestone booth, a wooden puzzle booth, Motul Oil booth, and a Brembo brake display. The Bridgestone booth offered visitors a ring toss type game wherein visitors had to hook a hula hoop around a hook, for a prize.

Another game present in the same booth was spin the wheel. Toyota also set up a mini karting track within one of the tents. Here the kids could go for a spin around the small track and race each other. Near the mini track and Bridgestone booth was a wooden puzzle table where participants could create their very own wooden toys out of the wooden puzzles provided.

The Vios Racing Festival also had Toyota units on display like the Rush, Avanza, Vios, and Fortuner. These vehicles were also up for test drives outside of the track area. This gave the public the chance to test the vehicles while the race was still being set up. Over in the grandstands, there was a screen set up so that fans could see what was going on during the race while the vehicles were out of their line of sight.

The Toyota Supra was also present during the event acting as a pace car for the start of the circuit races. It was later replaced by the official Vios safety car after the first lap of each races. There were at least three spins that involved the cars of Gerald Anderson, Marc Soong, and Chienna Filomeno that happened during the event, especially when the rain came in during race four. Thankfully, no one was hurt during these spin-outs. While the OMR received a beating during the event, they still held strong. OMR cars experience a lot of physical contact throughout racing, even when crashes happen these cars are still safe. It serves as a testament to how safe the Vios really is as crashes can happen at speeds over 100 km/h.