Here’s what to look out for on Leg 2 of the TGR Vios Cup 2022 season

1. Inigo Anton vs John Dizon

Inigo Anton is the son of Carlos Anton, one who Filipino motorheads and motorsport fans would look at as some sort of a legend in the scene (because he is). Carlos taught Inigo to drive a road car at age 7 and started training him for the race track ever since. In 2021, he made his Toyota Gazoo Racing Vios Cup debut and immediately qualified for the Sporting Class. After winning Overall Champion in his class, he was promoted and currently is competing in the Super Sporting Class for the 2022 season.

But young Inigo lives to compete. And this year, he might just be facing a bigger rivalry than his and Joaquin Garrido’s in the 2021 season.

During the first Leg of the season, held last July 1-2, John Dizon was eager to show immediately that he’s a force to be reckoned with. John Dizon of Fuhanmart - Obengers Racing Team was not present during the 2021 season, mostly because the talented driver had troubles finding sponsors due to the pandemic. This means the last time we saw John Dizon in the TGR Vios Cup was during the 2019 season, the same season when he and Troy Montero found themselves as the first Vios Cup drivers to finish the race upside-down at Clark International Speedway.

Photo by Jon Gonzales

In the 2018 season, John Dizon won overall champion of the sporting class. On his return to the TGR Vios Cup in the 2022 season, John won Race 1 and Race 3, and finished P4 on Race 2. This puts him at only an 8-point lead against new-found-rival, Inigo Anton after the first leg of the season.

As powerful as he is, especially with the Anton blood flowing through his adrenaline-filled veins, can Inigo Anton handle John Dizon’s heat?

2. The Garbeses vs Wakkeen

Joaquin Garrido, who is often referred to as Wakkeen, is currently dominating the sporting class with a 14-point lead against Jiro Garbes, who finished the 2021 season as the Promotional Class Overall Champion. Wakkeen, who drives for Toyota Otis - Obengers Racing Team, has stood on the podium three times after Leg 1. He won Race 1 & 2 and finished 3rd on Race 3 after having served a one-place penalty for causing a collision with Jiro Garbes on Lap 11/12. Wakkeen sits pretty at the top of the driver standings for Sporting Class with a total of 52 points.

During Leg 1 of the 2022 season and in the sporting class, Wakkeen won Race 1 while Jiro and Darrell Garbes finished P2 and P3 respectively, and Race 2 was just a repeat. Race 3 was a bit of a messy race with Wakkeen taking P3 while Jiro and Darrell Garbes finished P5 and P6.

Jiro Garbes, who was promoted to the sporting class this year after winning overall champion of the promotional class in the 2021 season, is eager to bring the fight to his new rival… or rivals to be precise.

Aside from Wakkeen, one of Jiro Garbes’ biggest rivals this season is none other than his father. Darrell Garbes, a Pampanga-based entrepreneur, has been part of Team JBT Racing - Toyota San Fernando for six years. Although his son, Jiro, has finished ahead of him twice during the first leg, he’s not backing off from a fight— not even against his own son. Darrell is currently eight points behind Jiro and one point behind Royce Sarmiento of RMS Cars Racing Team.

The stakes are high and the competition is feisty, but can the Garbes(es) close the gap between them and Wakkeen in Leg 2?

3. Toyota Team Cebu returns to dominate

In 2020, when the world stopped for a few months due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, most sporting events around the world came to a halt. The 2020 season was also postponed and would later resume in 2021, however with the absence of Team Toyota Cebu. Toyota Team Cebu is undoubtedly one of the TGR Vios Cup’s mightiest teams.

In the current season (2022), Toyota Team Cebu makes a comeback with Lord Seno racing in the Super Sporting Class, while Ian Rosales, Alan Palacios, and Felvin Gurrea are competing in the Promotional Class.

Right off the bat, Toyota Team Cebu is already reminding people and telling new fans that they’re there to bring the heat. Ian Rosales of Toyota Team Cebu is currently leading the promotional class, not finishing any of the races in Leg 1 without a podium finish. Ian is only 9 points ahead of his teammate, Alan Palacios, who is tied with Alain Alzona of Alzona Racing Team - Toyota General Santos and Julia Delos Angeles of TSJ - Obengers Racing Team.

4. The Battle for 2nd in the Promotional Class

The Promotional Class in this season of the TGR Vios Cup is nothing short of exciting races. Julia Delos Angeles of TSJ - Obengers Racing Team won the first race of the season, Alain Alzona of Alzona Racing Team - Toyota General Santos won Race 3 while Alan Palacios of Toyota Team Cebu finished P2 on Race 2 & 3. This puts the three drivers at an even playing field with the same number of points competing for 2nd place on the Driver Standings.

All three drivers currently have 38 points.

5. Alain Alzona Brings Pride to General Santos

Alain Alzona is the only driver coming all the way from General Santos to compete in the TGR Vios Cup. Alain Alzona does not travel alone either, he brings an entire audience with him to the track. If there was an award for Crowd Favorite, he should be one of the top contenders in the category. If you happen to spot him walking around the paddock area, don’t forget to say hi, you might just get a free Chooks-to-go roasted chicken. *wink*

Alain Alzona finished P3 on Race 1 and won Race 3 during the first leg of the season.

6. Troy Montero, Maila Alivia, Darrell Garbes & Royce Sarmiento

Troy Montero likes to make it clear that he is not just in the sport for fun, but to win. In the 2021 season, he finished 2nd overall after a really good series of races in the third leg put him ahead of Maila Alivia of JBT Racing - Toyota Isabela.

After two consecutive not-so-good finishes in Race 1 and 2, Troy Montero was able to bounce back in terms of points when he won Race 3, sharing the podium with Royce Sarmiento and Wakkeen.

After the first leg, Troy Montero, Maila Alivia, and Darrell Garbes all find themselves tied in 4th place with 30 points, just one point behind Royce Sarmiento. Royce needs to be careful not to let any of his competitors through, because one mistake could lose him his position in the standings.

The driver standings after Leg 1 of the TGR Vios Cup are as follows:

Super Sporting Class

Car #	Driver	Team	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Penalty Points	Total
41	John Dizon	Fuhanmart - Obengers Racing Team	20	10	20		50
33	Inigo Anton	Toyota North Edsa - Obengers Racing Team	15	12	15		42
99	Gerard Loy	R Racing Team	6	20	8		34
12	Daryl DeLeon	Toyota Marilao - Obengers Racing Team	12	6	12		30
81	Red Diwa	JBT Racing / Toyota Isabela	10	15	6	4	27
43	Lord Seno	Toyota Team Cebu	4	DQ	10		14
55	Bryan Co	R Racing Team	8	8	DQ	3	13

Sporting Class

Car #	Driver	Team	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Penalty Points	Total
63	Joaquin Garrido	Toyota Otis - Obengers Racing Team	20	20	12		52
21	Jiro Garbes	JBT Racing - Toyota San Fernando	15	15	8		38
27	Royce Sarmiento	RMS Cars Racing Team	8	8	15		31
76	Darrell Garbes	JBT Racing - Toyota San Fernando	12	12	6		30
73	Maila Alivia	JBT Racing - Toyota Isabela	10	10	10		30
6	Troy Montero	Toyota Gazoo Racing PH	4	6	20		30
45	Miguel Quinones	Toyota Balintawak - Obengers Racing Team	6	4	4		14
13	Elysse Menorca	Toyota North Edsa - Obengers Racing Team	DNF	DNF	DNF		0

Promotional Class

Car #	Driver	Team	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Penalty Points	Total
69	Ian Rosales	Toyota Team Cebu	15	20	12		47
19	Alain Alzona	Alzona Racing Team - Toyota General Santos	12	6	20		38
44	Alan Palcios	Toyota Team Cebu	8	15	15		38
61	Julia Delos Angeles	TSJ - Obengers Racing Team	20	10	8		38
66	Jay Lao	Happy Hotels - OTR Racing Team	10	4	10		24
5	Fabio Ide	Toyota Gazoo Racing PH	6	12	3		21
7	Daniel Matsunaga	Toyota Gazoo Racing PH	4	8	6		18
18	Felvin Gurrea	Toyota Team Cebu	3	DNF	4		7
88	Rommel Guevarra	JBT Racing / Toyota San Fernando	DNF	DNF	DNS
86	Teddy Javines	IGWT - JAV Racing Team	DNS	DNF	DNS

Source: Tuason Racing