Feeling like a winner with the Toyota Vios Cup

SIX WEEKS ago, Tuason Racing School (TRS) invited me to come over to Clark International Speedway for a track day-cum-tryout. The Vios One Make Racing Series was briefly explained and I was invited to be a potential participant. I might as well go, for shytes and giggles at least, I thought to myself.

 

The track day was fun, no doubt helped by the great car. The Vios Cup Car, stripped of its interior, sported a  Federation Internationale de l’Automobile-approved (FIA) 10-point rollcage, TRD race-spec coil-over suspension, TRD 1.5 way LSD, TRD sports clutch kit, ROTA 15-inch wheels and Yokohama Advan Neova ADO7 track-day tires and an OMP bucket seat and steering wheel. And what a revelation this Vios Cup car was. With a full race weight of about 1060 kilograms with me in it, the acceleration was spritely, the brakes phenomenal.

 

Daisuke Ito, Toyota and TRD’s ace race driver for the Super GT Series and a Le Mans 24 Hours veteran, came over to the Philippines to set up the car, which handled very mildly and predictably, but added a thousand times more testosterone and sex appeal to the Vios just by sitting on it. In short, the Vios was really good. We never found it lacking in depth or ability.

 

Despite being fun to wear, a proper racing suit in the high 30s/low 40s on Clark was a totally new and extremely uncomfortable experience. I got sick for two days the moment I got home due to heat stroke.

 

For all that effort, Toyota decided to bring me in as one of the lucky media participants in the exhibition race. Along with fellow journalists from other publications, we would be racing with actress Rhian Ramos, celebrity host Phoemela Baranda, rising actors Fabio Ide and Aljur Abrenica, along with celebrity sports host Jinno Rufino in a grid-filler/moving pylon obstacle course. We would get expert and intensive track tuition from Tuason Racing School and a host of free Toyota-labeled, OMP-branded racing equipment as well. Sounds like a good deal, right?

 

There was only one problem: I had almost ZERO competitiveness in me. Though I love driving, I never really bothered timing myself on the track. So long as I was happy, times didn’t matter.

 

First day of practice was ugly. My times were in the high 1:28s around Clark International Speedway’s short track. I was getting lost on some corners, and I was too chicken to take the last corner flat out. The racing suit I wore was extremely tight, and I felt my consciousness waning just sitting inside the car. When I got home, my wife touched me and told me I was sick again. I was knocked out for another two days after.

 

During the second practice session, I improved to the mid 1:24s. A decent gain, but still off the pace. The fast guys were already in the 1:19s, and their times were still dropping. I could barely breathe, no thanks to the tight racing suit and five-point OMP harness. The moment I got home, I dropped dead in bed, sick again for another day. Thankfully, I learned to trust the Vios Cup Car and was able to take the last corner flat out in third gear, gaining much time there.

 

On the third practice day, the instructors at TRS installed a GoPro camera and datalogger to see where I was losing time. The GPS traces showed up and were overlayed against one of the faster guys. I immediately knew which corners needed much improvement, which was ALL of them.

 

TRS instructors rode shotgun with me and told me to drive slowly and focus on the proper racing lines. They also told me where I should simply lift off the throttle rather than hit the brakes, and use careful throttle modulation rather than tapping the brakes to control speed. By the end of the day, I was lapping in the low 1:20s. I was satisfied, but then again the fastest guys were in the low 1:15s/high 1:14s.

 

By the fourth practice day, I went out slowly, learned the track and went 1:19s, then 1:18s and finally touched high 1:17s. Racing was truly getting fun. TRS found me a racing suit that fit comfortably, allowing me to focus on driving rather than on not collapsing. On the fifth practice day, thanks to some help from fellow racers, I was consistently lapping in the low 1:17s and hitting mid 1:16s, and I was finally confident about where to go on the track.

 

On the qualifying day, we had practice in the morning. By then, we had all-new tires (the Clark surface prefers scrubbed-in Yokohama Neovas), our cars were fitted with new brake pads and given a full tank of gas, which added considerable weight to the stripped-out Vios race cars. Our times dropped, and it started to rain.

 

The qualifying saw the teams split into two groups, and we got the short end of the stick, qualifying in the rain so times were way off against the first. I qualified at eighth, which made me happy, given the conditions. That Phoem Baranda outpaced all of us in the qualifying, taking pole position, shows that in racing, the best and fastest prefer no particular gender.

 

Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans. Signal No. 3 was raised in Pampanga as Typhoon “Santi” decided to join the festivities on the track, destroying everything in its path. Officials from Toyota Motors Corp., TRD Japan, TRD Thailand and the Automobile Association Philippines/FIA unanimously decided to cancel the race and reschedule it. So watch this space!

 

But I already felt like a winner. I drive much more confidently now, my technique honed by hours on the track and guided by professional instructors rather than simply going balls-out fast but at a loss.

 

I’ve learned to regulate my breathing to help me focus. I forced myself to drink more water rather than sugared drinks to get me better hydrated. And I feel surprisingly fitter stepping in and out of the car because nothing prepares a person for being suited up really tight inside a car with ambient temps pushing 40 degrees and above, going flat out for a minimum of 25 minutes, concentrating on picking out the correct racing lines and braking/turn-in points. You can say I’ve developed a bit of a swagger when I walk, and I keep comparing my times now with the rest of the guys, too. It’s time to Waku Doki.