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Manila Bulletin devider Drive devider Toyota Tamaraw OMR ready for 2026 season

Toyota Tamaraw OMR ready for 2026 season

A closer look at next year's racecar

Published Dec 19, 2025 10:48 am

At A Glance

  • The Philippines will soon host Toyota Tamaraw races. Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) will be adding a Tamaraw one-make race (OMR) to the 2026 Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) Philippine Cup season.
  • Those interested in acquiring the Tamaraw race car and joining the TGR Philippine Cup can simply inquire at any Toyota dealer.
Just like Thailand, the Philippines will soon host Toyota Tamaraw races. Proving it is more than just a utility vehicle, Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) will be adding a Tamaraw one-make race (OMR) to the 2026 Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) Philippine Cup season.
Tamaraw one-make race car
The Tamaraw OMR was conceived to further enhance Philippine Cup race weekends. To encourage fair competition, the one-make format ensures every participant has the exact same machine, putting the focus on driver skill. Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippines hopes to embolden interested parties to join this new race category. To simplify the often daunting prerequisites to racing, they have produced a turnkey race car priced at P1.35-million. With this vehicle, going racing is as easy as simply purchasing the vehicle, assembling a team, and showing up to the season’s race weekends. Those interested in acquiring the Tamaraw race car and joining the TGR Philippine Cup can simply inquire at any Toyota dealer.
TGR Philippines plans to have 30 Tamaraw race cars on the grid. If more join, there could be several classes — from rookies to pros — to accommodate drivers of various skill levels.
Interior of the Toyota Tamaraw one-make race car
Interior of the Toyota Tamaraw one-make race car
Like the Vios one-make race (OMR) cars of the Philippine Cup, the Tamaraw race cars will feature several modifications to make them more suitable for racing. These include safety upgrades like a racing seat, a full roll cage, an engine kill-switch, and a race-spec steering wheel. As for performance, they will be fitted with modified suspension, a limited-slip differential (LSD), and the same brand of tires used by the Vios OMR cars. The 2.4-liter turbo-diesel engine and manual transmission will remain stock, but will be fitted with an HKS exhaust system. These upgrades were chosen by TMP’s development partner, Autoplus, and will be fitted to each racing Tamaraw.
A test drive on track
TMP generously allowed us to have a go with the Tamaraw OMR prototype on the race track. We can say with confidence that it’s no slouch. Our few laps saw us hitting well above 150-km/h on the circuit’s straights. It may look like a utility vehicle, but the modifications make it handle just as well, if not better than the Vios OMR. Sweepers and even hairpins were easily conquered by the racecar. It’s very likely this vehicle will produce some really close racing among competitors. Best of all, even when under heavy acceleration, the Tamaraw OMR cars produced no black smoke.
Of course, the 2026 season of Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) Philippine Cup will still features many of the events spectators have come to love, like the Vios one-make race, drifting exhibition, gymkhana, club runs, and ride-alongs. However we have a very good feeling that this new Tamaraw one-make race will be the new star of the show.

Related Tags

Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippines Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP)
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