With only a few weeks to go ’til the 2016 season begins, the Vios Cup finally gets the green light. And as expected from the “biggest motorsports event in the country,” this year is only going to get bigger.
The tools may not have changed, with the Vios Cup Car still the weapon of choice, but a lot of other things has. The biggest of which is the revised classes. It’s no longer based on qualifying times, which means driver classification remains constant throughout the season, and has since been increased from 2 to 3.
There’s now a new ‘Super Sporting Class’ that’s added on top of the Sporting and Promotional Classes. As the name suggests, it’s reserved for the Top 20 drivers from 2015 where they’re all required to have a National B License to compete. This way, the best-of-the-best can go at each other on track, hopefully showing the other boys (and girls) how clean racing should be.
Meanwhile, the Top 10 finishers in last year’s Promotional Class has been bumped up to the Sporting Class, including celebrity drivers Sam YG and Phoemela Baranda. As always, the Promotional Class is where all the newbies, oldies, ladies, and other celebrities go.
Although technically there were 63 drivers in 2015, they didn’t all share the same track at any given time. That’s why the 55 names slated for Round 1 is by far the biggest in Toyota Motor Philippines’ (TMP) history. The list includes familiar faces such as defending champions Andres Calma and Miguel Diaz, as well as the pretty faces of Derek Ramsay, Joyce Pring, Fabio Ide, and Jinno Rufino. But sadly, 2014 champion Luis Gono will not be part of the grid this year… or at least, not yet.
There are also new celebrity drivers that you may have heard of. Jericho Rosales is scheduled to make his race debut this weekend, while Miss World 2013 Megan Young and actress/singer Arci Munoz will follow suit in later rounds.
2016 Vios Cup Race Calendar
Round 1 | March 18/19 (Clark International Speedway)
Round 2 | May 21/22 (Filinvest, Alabang)
Round 3 | September 9/11 (Bacolod)
Round 4 | November 4/6 (TBA)
Here is the complete entry list for the 2016 Vios Cup.
January | ||
21 | National Drag Racing Championship Northern Series - Leg 1 | Clark International Speedway |
21/22 | National Karting Series - Round 6 | Carmona Race Track |
22 | Philippine Autocross Championship Series - Shakedown | LTO Las Pinas |
30/31 | Shell Eco Marathon Asia | Clark International Speedway |
February | ||
1 - 5 | Shell Eco Marathon Asia | Clark International Speedway |
5 | Philippine Autocross Championship Series - Round 1 (Luzon) | Meycauayan Commercial Complex |
11 | National Drag Racing Championship Southern Series - Leg 1 | Batangas Racing Circuit |
25/26 | X30 Karting Series - Round 1 | Carmona Race Track |
March | ||
4 | National Drag Racing Championship Northern Series - Leg 2 | Clark International Speedway |
5 | Philippine Autocross Championship Series - Round 2 (Luzon) | Meycauayan Commercial Center |
11/12 | X30 Karting Series - Round 2 | Carmona Race Track |
12 | National Slalom Series - Leg 1 | Robinsons Novaliches |
18 | FlatOut Race Series - Round 1 | Batangas Racing Circuit |
25 | National Drag Racing Championship Southern Series - Leg 2 | Batangas Racing Circuit |
25 | Touge Battle - Round 1 | Batangas Racing Circuit |
25/26 | Motorsport Development Program | Mega Tent, Libis |
April | ||
1 | FlatOut Race Series - Round 2 | Batangas Racing Circuit |
1/2 | National Karting Series - Round 1 | Palawan International Circuit |
1/2 | Motorsport Development Program | Cebu |
2 | National Slalom Series - Leg 2 | Robinsons Starmills |
8 | National Drag Racing Championship Southern Series - Leg 3 | Batangas Racing Circuit |
8 | Touge Battle - Round 2 | Batangas Racing Circuit |
8/9 | Motorsport Development Program - Gymkhana | Bacolod |
22 | National Drag Racing Championship Northern Series - Leg 3 | Clark International Speedway |
22/23 | National Karting Series - Round 2 | Palawan International Circuit |
29 | Toyota Vios Cup - Round 1 | Clark International Speedway |
29/30 | Philippine Superbike Championship - Round 1 | Batangas Racing Circuit |
30 | Philippine Autocross Championship Series - Round 3 (Luzon) | Mega Tent, Libis |
May | ||
6 | National Drag Racing Championship Southern Series - Leg 4 | Batangas Racing Circuit |
6 | Touge Battle - Round 3 | Batangas Racing Circuit |
7 | National Slalom Series - Leg 3 | Cbanatuan City |
13/14 | Motorsport Development Program - Gymkhana | Tagum |
13/14 | Philippine GT Championship - Round 1 | Batangas Racing Circuit |
14 | Clubman Racing Series - Round 1 | Clark International Speedway |
20 | FlatOut Race Series - Round 3 | Batangas Racing Circuit |
20 | National Drag Racing Championship Northern Series - Leg 4 | Clark International Speedway |
20/21 | Motorsport Development Program - Gymkhana | Cagayan De Oro |
28 | Philippine Autocross Championship - Round 4 | Meycauayan, Bulacan |
June | ||
3/4 | Philippine Superbike Championship - Round 2 | Clark International Speedway |
3 | FlatOut Race Series - Round 4 | Batangas Racing Circuit |
4 | 4 Hr Philippine Endurance Challenge | Batangas Racing Circuit |
4 | National Slalom Series - Leg 4 | Tarlac Circuit Hill |
9/10 | Toyota Vios Cup - Round 2 | Clark International Speedway |
10 | Touge Battle - Round 4 | Tarlac Circuit Hill |
10/11 | Asian Karting Open Championship - Round 1 | Macau |
17/18 | Motorsport Development Program - Gymkhana | Cebu |
18 | Philippine Autocross Championship - Round 5 | SM Novaliches |
24/25 | Philippine GT Championship - Round 2 | Clark International Speedway |
24/25 | Motorsport Development Program - Gymkhana | Bacolod |
25 | National Slalom Series - Leg 5 | Robinsons Novaliches |
July | ||
1 | FlatOut Race Series - Round 5 | Clark International Speedway |
8/9 | Philippine Superbike Championship - Round 3 | Batangas Racing Circuit |
9 | National Slalom Series - Leg 6 | Robinsons Starmills |
15/16 | National Karting Series - Round 3 | Carmona Race Track |
15/16 | Motorsport Development Program - Gymkhana | Cagayan De Oro |
16 | Clubman Racing Series - Round 2 | Batangas Racing Circuit |
22/23 | Philippine GT Championship - Round 3 | Clark International Speedway |
22/23 | Motorsport Development Program | Mega Tent, Libis |
29 | Touge Battle - Round 5 | TBA |
30 | Philippine Autocross Championship - Round 6 | Bacolod |
August | ||
5 | FlatOut Race Series - Round 6 | Batangas Racing Circuit |
5/6 | Philippine Superbike Championship - Round 4 | Clark International Speedway |
13 | National Slalom Series - Leg 7 | Robinsons Starmills Pampanga |
19/20 | Philippine GT Championship - Round 4 | Batangas Racing Circuit |
20 | Philippine Autocross Championship - Round 7 | SM Sta. Rosa |
26/27 | X30 Karting Series - Round 3 | Carmona Race Track |
26/27 | Asian Karting Open Championship - Round 2 | Carmona Race Track |
27 | National Slalom Series - Leg 8 | Robinsons Novaliches |
September | ||
2/3 | Philippine Superbike Championship - Round 5 | Batangas Racing Circuit |
3 | Philippine Autocross Championship - Mindanao | Cagayan De Oro |
9/10 | National Karting Series - Round 4 | Clark International Speedway |
9 | FlatOut Race Series - Round 7 | Batangas Racing Circuit |
10 | National Slalom Series - Leg 9 | Cabanatuan City |
15/16 | Toyota Vios Cup - Round 3 | Clark International Speedway |
23/24 | Philippine GT Championship - Round 5 | Batangas Racing Circuit |
24 | Philippine Autocross Championship - Round 8 | Mega Tent, Libis |
30 | Philippine Superbike Championship - Round 6 | Clark International Speedway |
October | ||
1 | Philippine Superbike Championship - Round 6 | Clark International Speedway |
1 | National Slalom Series - Leg 10 | Robinsons Novaliches |
1 | Philippine Autocross Championship - Visayas | Bredco Port, Bacolod City |
2 | Touge Battle - Round 6 | Subic International Raceway |
14 | FlatOut Race Series - Round 8 | Clark International Speedway |
15 | Clubman Racing Series - Round 3 | Batangas Racing Circuit |
21/22 | Caterham Motorsport Championship | Clark International Speedway |
21/22 | Formula 4 South East Asia Championship | Clark International Speedway |
21/22 | Philippine GT Championship - Round 6 | Clark International Speedway |
22 | Philippine Autocross Championship - Round 9 | Philippine Arena |
28/29 | Asian Karting Open Championship - Round 3 | Thailand |
28/29 | Motorsport Development Program - Gymkhana | Tagum |
November | ||
4/5 | Motorsport Development Program - Gymkhana Championship | Mega Tent, Libis |
19 | Philippine Autocross Championship - Mindanao | Carlos P Garcia Park |
19 | Clubman Racing Series - Round 4 | Clark International Speedway |
24/25 | Toyota Vios Cup - Round 4 | Clark International Speedway |
26 | National Slalom Series - Leg 11 | Tarlac Circuit Hill |
December | ||
2/3 | 8 Hr Philippine Endurance Challenge | Clark International Speedway |
3 | National Slalom Series - Leg 12 | Robinsons Starmills Pampanga |
9/10 | Asian Karting Open Championship - Round 4 | Macau |
The 2016 Vios Cup is in partnership with Bridgestone and Rota, supported by Motul, TRD, Brembo, Denso, AVT, OMP, and Tuason Racing.