PH’s Luis Moreno qualifies for Toyota GR GT Cup Global Finals in Spain
The Toyota Gazoo Racing (GR) GT Cup Asia 2023 has successfully concluded with three heart-pumping races held last September 24, 2023. E-motorsports enthusiasts saw 15 qualifiers from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and of course the Philippines fight for the global finals.
For this year’s GR GT Cup Asia, all regional finalists participated in three (3) races on PlayStation’s Gran Turismo 7. Representing the Philippines were Luis Moreno, Matthew Ang, and Russel Reyes.
The first race, played on Mount Panorama with GT Supra Gr.4 cars, began with a 5-minute time attack as a qualifying round to determine grid positions, followed by a 15-minute race. The second race on the Tokyo Expressway – East Clockwise track was played with Race 1’s grid positions reversed using GR Corolla cars over a 25-minute race time. The third and final race, played on the legendary Spa Francorchamps racetrack with GR010 Hybrid Hypercars, once again began with a 5-minute time attack qualifying round, before concluding with a 35-minute race amidst dynamic weather.
Indonesia’s Andika Rama came out as the winner of the race with a total of 65 points throughout the competition. Rama clocked 4th and 5th places in Race 1 and 2 before boldly claiming pole position in Race 3.
Our very own Luis Moreno is also heading to global finals after securing 6th and 4th place in earlier races before scorching to pole position in Race 3’s qualifying round, and maintaining his podium spot in the race to come out overall second in the championship with 52 points.
Rama and Moreno will both represent Asia and race against some of the world’s best e-Motorsport racers in the TGR GT Cup Global Finals slated for November in Barcelona, Spain.
“It is with great pride and joy that we congratulate Luis Moreno for his breathtaking second place finish at the TGR GT Cup Asia, earning for the Philippines one of the two Asian spots in the GR GT Cup Global Finals,” said Danny Cruz, TMP First Vice President for Vehicle Sales Operations. “This is truly an unforgettable milestone for the Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippines family that have always championed Filipinos’ world-class skills and passion for e-motorsports.”
“Luis, along with his Toyota Philippines teammates Russel Reyes and Matthew Ang, have been great examples of our amazing local sim-racing talent. We look forward to seeing them achieve greater things in the future, especially Luis who has our full support as he carries our flag in the world finals in Barcelona this November,” Cruz added.
