Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival Season 4 goes online with fan engagement, new entertainment segments

With the first round of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival Season 4 now confirmed for March 27-28 at the Sepang International Circuit, the motorsports event will see the brand deploy its website as well as social media platforms to maximise audience engagement in lieu of live attendance, as the event will be run under ‘sports bubble’ conditions in line with measures to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Following its postponement from the original January start date, the fourth season of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival in the country promises entertainment and wholesome fun for the family in addition to racing, the three key elements of the festival to continue leading the festival’s charge despite distanced proceedings.

The broadcast of the weekend motorsport event will be joined by a new, live-streamed segment named Toyota Gazoo Racing Off The Grid, which will be anchored by the 10 local celebrities who will be taking part in the Promotional class of the Vios Challenge.

The segment dubbed Jom Duet Bersama Khai Bahar, Wany Hasrita dan Nabila Razali will offer fans the chance to take part in an acting and singing duet challenge, where the best-rated fan submissions will be broadcast on the live stream. Meanwhile in Melodi Misteri, the celebrities will take turns to sing aloud songs that only they can hear while wearing a helmet, and fans are to guess the songs being sung.

On the comedy front, Nabil Ahmad and Zizan Razak will collaborate in the Latah Positif and Berita Apani segments, which are to give viewers of the festival insights into the event.

The newly-added Rookie class comprised of simulator racers Mika Hakimi and Naquib Azlan, along with kart racers Amer Harris, Jwan Hii, Putera Adam and Troy Eimann will go head-to-head with Gazoo Racing ambassador Tengku Djan Ley Tengku Mahaleel in a segment called Toyota Arena Bersama Rookies & Tengku Djan, where reaction times will be tested away from the racetrack environment familiar to this group.

Rookies Amer Harris and Mika Hakimi were recent Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) national examination candidates, and they will host the Did you SPM? segment, where the rookie racer duo will ask fellow racers, mechanics and race officials a series of questions from the national examination papers.

Each live stream broadcast on both days of the festival will be wrapped up with a live performance by the participating celebrities, bringing a close to proceedings with the segment that fans and attendees of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival in the country will be familiar with.

“The concept of the festival remains unchanged, only the manner in which it reaches out to the public in these extraordinary and challenging times. The Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival has primarily been about bringing motorsports to the masses and we will continue to do this,” said UMW Toyota president Ravindran Kurusamy.

The broadcast for Round 1 of Season 4 of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival will take place from 8:45am to 12:10pm and from 2:00pm to 6:00pm on the Saturday, as well as from 10:45am to 1:00pm and from 1:30pm to 5:30pm on the Sunday. The action will be broadcast live from the Toyota Malaysia and Toyota Gazoo Racing Malaysia Facebook pages, and the Toyota Gazoo Racing Malaysia website.

GALLERY: Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival Season 4 launch