Toyota Gazoo Racing Vios Gold Championship title fight goes down to the wire after dramatic Round 3

The 2026 Toyota Gazoo Racing Malaysia Vios Gold Championship is set for a thrilling season finale after a dramatic third round at the Petronas Sepang International Circuit saw championship leaders stumble as new contenders emerged across all three classes.

Round 3 featured a different challenge from the opening two weekends, with drivers contesting a one-hour race on the full Sepang circuit. Combined with all 37 cars from the Super Sporting, Sporting and Rookie classes sharing the track, the longer race and heavier traffic prevented many of the championship frontrunners from extending their advantage in the standings.

In Race 1 of the Super Sporting Class, defending champion Freddie Ang converted pole position into victory for Telagamas Toyota, finishing 5.9 seconds ahead of Timothy Yeo, while former champion Mitchell Cheah rounded out the podium in third.

The Sporting Class belonged to Elson Lew, who claimed victory for Hong Huat X Armada KK Racing by 10.9 seconds over Taj Izrin Aiman. India's Aditya Patnaik completed the top three.

The Rookie Class saw 16-year-old Ethen Low continue his impressive form, taking Race 1 victory by an impressive 18.7-second margin ahead of Ervin Lim, with Imran Iskandar finishing third.

Sunday's Race 2 proved even more eventful, with the safety car deployed three separate times following incidents involving Lim Chun Beng and Sophia Zara, Hendra Ade Putra, and later Loke Yin Yi and Ng Aik Sha. The race eventually finished behind the safety car.

Bradley Benedict made full use of pole position to claim victory in the Super Sporting Class despite seeing his lead wiped out by each safety car period. Mitchell Cheah collected his second podium of the weekend in second place, while Kenneth Koh finished third.

"I had a good start during the race and just did my best to extend my lead," said Bradley.

"The margin of victory may have been small but it was enough to take the race win."

In the Sporting Class, Aditya Patnaik kept his composure throughout the interruptions to secure victory by just 0.3 seconds over Adam Mikail, with Ariff Azmi finishing third. The result also marked Patnaik's second podium finish in as many races.

Ethen Low completed a perfect weekend in the Rookie Class by winning Race 2 as well, beating Megat Damian by 0.4 seconds, while Ervin Lim once again finished third.

With RM 876,000 in prize money up for grabs this season, attention now turns to the fourth and final round of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Malaysia Vios Gold Championship, scheduled for October, where the 2026 champions will be crowned.