Victor Ancheta, Enzo Ison and Matthew Ang round up Team Philippines
October 17, 2025 – The sixth season of Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP)’s premier sim racing tournament, the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Philippines eSports GT Championship, has come to a thrilling close with the announcement of the winners last October 12.
Held at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay, the event attracted more than 20,000 spectators over the weekend as the best sim racers in the country battled it out for exciting prizes and the honor of representing the Philippines at the Asia Finals.
Newcomer Victor Ancheta emerged as champion after competing against 39 other racers through the quarterfinals, semifinals and national finals. Qualifying third overall among more than 250 participants during the qualifiers, Ancheta consistently placed in the top ranks in all his races, just behind seasoned sim racers.
Meanwhile, 2024 season runner-up and Asia Finals participant Enzo Ison bagged 2nd Place. A top contender, Ison ranked first in the qualifiers, and showed consistent performance throughout the finals to secure his spot on the podium.
2023 third placer and Asia Finals participant Matthew Ang took the last spot on the podium at 3rd Place, completing Team Philippines. Ang qualified second overall during the qualifiers, establishing himself as a racer to look out for.
For the quarterfinals, the top 40 sim racers from the qualifiers were seeded into four groups of 10 players each, where each group took on Dragon Tail Gardens in the GR Yaris High Performance ’20 in three race heats. The starting grid of the first race heat was decided by a qualifying time trial (QTT), while the second race heat put racers in a reverse grid based on their finishing order in the first race. For the third race heat, the QTT results of the first race heat were re-used to set the grid.
Ison topped the ranks in the quarterfinals, followed by Ang, and Jether Miole.
The top 20 racers then went wheel-to-wheel in the semifinals the following day, where points were reset. Participants were seeded into two groups of 10 racers each. The first race put racers in the Toyota GR Supra Race Car 19 Gr. 4 on Mount Panorama. The same car was used during the second race in the drizzling Redbull Ring. For the third and final race of the semifinals, tire wear and fuel consumption were enabled to test the racers’ race craft on the Daytona International Speedway.
Miole pulled off an exceptional drive, placing first in the semifinals. He was followed by Ang in second, and Ison in third.
Following the semifinals, the TGR Philippines eSports GT Championship surprised everyone with the announcement of the Wild Card Round. The surprise round called back eight racers who did not make it to the top 10 for a chance to take the 11th seat in the national finals. The participating racers were chosen through a random draw.
To add more thrill to the Wild Card Round races, previous champions Luis Moreno and Russel Reyes were called onstage to join the grid. With Moreno and Reyes in the mix, the eight lucky racers had to learn how to keep up with high-level driving from experienced veterans.
James Lopez, who finished in third place behind Reyes and Moreno, was announced the Wild Card Round winner and advanced to the national finals.
The national finals had the top 11 racers going head-to-head in three races, each in a different car and track. Racers drove the Toyota Supra Racing Concept ’18 on Kyoto Driving Park – Yamagiwa for the first race, the Toyota GR Yaris on Colorado Springs for the second race, and the Toyota GR010 Hybrid on the technical Circuit de Spa Francorchamps in dynamic weather conditions for the third and final race.
Consistency and race craft would be key for the national finals as score multipliers would be applied to the second and third races, where tire wear and fuel consumption were also enabled.
Matthew Ang took pole position but was overtaken by Enzo Ison in the first race, who went on to win the race. He was followed by Victor Ancheta in second, and Jether Miole in third.
In the second race, Ang made his way to the front of the pack to secure first place, showing off his skill in the dirt track. Miole and Ison finished behind him in second and third, respectively.
A scuffle in the first lap of the third race would relegate Miole to the back of the pack, while tire strategy would affect the pace and track position of Ison and Ang, putting Michael Velasquez and Victor Ancheta ahead of them in the final laps. A bold overtake by Velasquez in the final lap took the win away from Ancheta, and Corwin Mercado finished behind them in third.
After rounding up the points, Victor Ancheta was crowned the TGR Philippines eSports GT Championship 2025 champion with 72 points, Enzo Ison in 2nd Place with 67.5 points, and Matthew Ang in 3rd Place with 61.5 points.
Special awards were also given to Ancheta for Crowd Favorite, Jether Miole for Best Overtake, Ison for Smooth Operator, and Ang for the Pole Position Award.
“I feel happy that I won the championship, and I feel honored to be one of the drivers to be representing the Philippines. I am looking forward to going up against Asia’s fastest drivers and see where I stand up against them,” shared Ancheta.
“It feels great to be on the podium and that I will have the chance to represent the country once again in Thailand next month. I’m looking forward for another fun experience and hopefully get a great result for Team Philippines at the Asia Finals!” shared Ison. “I felt disappointed since I genuinely felt I could become champion this year, but now I feel grateful and empowered to perform well in the Asia Finals. I’m looking forward to representing my country again and more importantly, seeing my old competitors from 2023 and seeing how much I improved in two years,” shared Ang.
Ancheta, Ison and Ang will represent Team Philippines at the Asia Finals in Thailand on November 23.
The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Philippines eSports GT Championship 2025 is sanctioned by the Automobile Association Philippines and is brought to you by Official Fuel & Lubricants Partner Petron and Official Tire Partner GT Radial.
This event is also supported by Official Timekeeper Seiko, Toyota Financial Services Philippines, Tuason Racing, AVT, 3M, Denso, OMP, ROTA, Autoplus, PIAA, Vinyl Frog Premier Vehicle Wraps, AutoQuix, Sparco, myTOYOTA Wallet and Kinto One.
Those interested in joining the TGR Philippines eSports GT Championship next season can stay tuned to TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Philippines on Facebook, Instagram and X for the latest announcements.
Stay updated with Toyota products, services, events and more by following Toyota Motor Philippines on Facebook and Instagram, ToyotaMotorPH on X, and join the Viber community at Toyota PH.
’s premier sim racing tournament, the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Philippines eSports GT Championship, has come to a thrilling close with the announcement of the winners last October 12.){kind=link}