20 March 2022 –
This weekend’s Season 5 opener of the Toyota GAZOO Racing Festival and Vios Challenge onemake race series at the Sepang International Circuit is going to be exceptionally special and memorable for 20-year-old Adele Liew and her 48-year-old father Eddie – they will be competing against each other on the track in what may well be the very first father vs daughter bout in Malaysian motorsports.
“This is a very special moment for the both of us. In order for me to be able to race my father shows just how long he has been in motorsports…This is going to be a whole new experience for the two of us and my dad is equally very excited. He is definitely the best mentor I could have ever hoped for to prepare for my first ever race weekend,” said Adele who joins the Rookie Class with only limited experience and seat time behind the wheel of fun karts.
Father Eddie on the other hand, is an accomplished racing veteran with a history that dates back to the early 90s. Technically, Adele will be competing in the Rookie Class while Eddie is in the Super Sporting Class for elite and professional drivers but both classes will start the race together therefore giving both father and daughter the opportunity to spar on the track.
“I only started driving fun karts last year and I just managed to do this for a month before the Movement Control Order (MCO) came into force. I’ve been tagging along with my father and his friends to the racing track since I was 3 years old. He used to compete a lot at the then Pasir Gudang Circuit (Johor Circuit), and I’ve been following him to all his races ever since, from the Malaysia Championship Series and the MSF Series to the Sepang 1000km Endurance Race.”
Currently an undergraduate at one of the private institutions of higher learning in Kuala Lumpur while her father resides in Johor, Adele’s training sessions have since gone online with the two spending hours on phone.
“When we’re together he makes me drive a manual transmission car and we spend time on the racing simulator where he teaches me to become familiar with the many racing lines and braking points. Now that I am enrolled in university, our training sessions are conducted over the phone and believe me, our calls can last for hours with super long conversations on racing.”
Counting down to her first ever amateur race, Adele will be up against a field of five other young drivers competing in the Rookie Class. The Rookie Class is part of UMW Toyota Motor’s initiative to provide young drivers with a platform to climb the motorsports ladder, with the introduction of the GAZOO Racing Young Talent Development Program for candidates between the ages of 16 and 20 who are transitioning from karting and simulator racing to saloon car racing.
“Compared to the others, I am a real beginner with limited experience and that means I have to put in twice the effort. We’ll see how things go as the season progresses but I’d really like to get on to the podium and make my dad proud. From several sessions on the track with the Vios race car and being guided by several different coaches – some of who were last year’s Rookie Class racers – I’ve learnt a lot especially in mentally preparing myself. And the car is also very easy to drive.”
Racing fans and enthusiasts can catch the weekend’s action and stage performances by local celebrities streamed live on the UMW Toyota Motor (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd website at www.toyota.com.my and on the Toyota Malaysia and Toyota Gazoo Racing Malaysia Facebook pages. For more information, kindly log on to www.toyota.com.my.
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