The first round of the 2021 Toyota Gazoo Racing GT Cup concluded last weekend with potential overall champions securing the top spots on the leaderboard.

The first round brought the virtual racers to the third oldest circuit in the world, the 5.8-kilometer Autodromo Nazionale di Monza north of Milan, Italy. The historic circuit features 11 turns which include some chicanes or artificial road curvatures which give participants more challenges coming from a long stretch as long as 938 meters of asphalt.

The first day covered the qualifying races for the Junior Class (players 17 years old and below), promotional (non-professional), and sporting (with professional e-sports experience).

Junior class racers showed an amazing performance making the Monza tracks seem like a playground. Russel Cabrera claimed the top spot while consistently maintaining his lead until the end of the race. Second is David Marquez who achieved the best time as well at 2:02.5, while John Paul Veloso claimed the third spot on the podium.

The second day kicked off with the heat race of the Promotional Class. Jether Miole calmly savored his win as he persistently defended his lead widening the gap from the competitors from a quarter to almost half a second leading to a home stretch. It was a neck and neck battle as the category’s leading racers kept their vehicles on the lane towards victory.

Finally, the Sporting Category where most participants represented their own e-sports team. Claiming the top spot is Terrence Lallave who is a returning racer made sure that he will have an explosive comeback. Steadily following him in second is Luis Moreno and in third place is Estefano Rivera who also challenged real life tracks in the recent Vios Cup.

The champions of the first round get to take home exciting gaming gears which will give an awesome upgrade to their arsenal. Bigger and better rewards await winning racers of the upcoming round. Especially that the kicker for the 2nd leg will be the application of multipliers. Scores accumulated by the racers will be multiplied by 1.5 which means the champion of the round gets 30 points instead of the initial 20. On top of that are prizes including coveted digital devices and gadgets. With higher stakes, racers are encouraged to join and re-qualify to get more chances of increasing points. Interested participants can still register for the 2nd leg by signing-up on the official Toyota GR GT Cup website (toyota.com.ph/gtcup).

Race fans and enthusiasts should bookmark the official Facebook page of Toyota Motor Philippines to be notified of live streams. For those interested in the Vios GR-S and GR Yaris, visit toyota.com.ph.