MANILA -- Long-time Philippine motorsports advocate Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) has recently shifted its homegrown motorsports program by launching the 2019 Vios Racing Festival 2019.

The festival, which will kick off this April, is a step up from Toyota’s Vios Cup, the company’s motorsport program that has been running for 5 years now.

TMP president Satoru Suzuki said they wanted to bring the excitement of motorsports to an even wider audience -- bringing the thrill of racing not just to car enthusiasts but to anyone who wants to experience driving.

"Through the Vios Racing Festival 2019, Toyota makes the ‘waku doki’ experience more personal by intensifying the overall experience," said Suzuki, referring to the principle describing that “surge of emotion and joyful anticipation.”

The Philippines' Vios Racing Festival will have two major categories: the Vios Circuit Championship and the Vios Autocross Challenge.

The 3-leg Vios Circuit Championship will have racers tackling the tracks of Clark Speedway in Pampanga using the All-New Vios.

The Vios Autocross Challenge, meanwhile, will have racers in a timed competition within a specially designed obstacle course where participants can share the tracks with celebrities, media, and car club racers. It will be held in Metro Manila, with the goal of making the races more accessible to the public, whether as participants or spectators.

Mini autocross challenges will also be held at the end of each leg of the Vios Circuit Championship.

Side events outside the racetrack will also be put up to cater to those who are interested in other automobile-related activities like Toyota test drives.

(For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.)