Rookie Racing Garage Manila: A new playground for car lovers

CAR clubs, performance parts, tuning, and Toyota’s GR cars will soon come together along Macapagal Boulevard in Pasay City. And enthusiasts will be welcome whatever badge their cars carry.

Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) has unveiled Rookie Racing Garage Manila, a new destination for people who enjoy driving, modifying cars, and spending hours discussing what to do with them next.

Expected to open on Dec. 16, 2026, the facility will be only the fourth Rookie Racing Garage in the world. TMP Chairman Alfred Ty, TMP President Masando Hashimoto, and Toyota Manila Bay President Keita Inoue led the unveiling, bringing a project inspired by Toyota Motor Corp. Chairman Akio Toyoda closer to welcoming Filipino enthusiasts.

FOR CAR ENTHUSIASTS A Rookie Racing Garage facility in Japan offers a glimpse of what car enthusiasts can expect when a similar facility opens along Macapagal Boulevard in Pasay City on Dec. 16, 2026. TOYOTA PHOTO

Toyota officials, Rookie Racing Garage (RRG) Manila management, and RRG ambassadors gather during the unveiling of the new automotive facility along Macapagal Boulevard. (From left) RRG ambassadors Maricar Tanjueco and Rycca Timog, Toyota Manila Bay President Keita Inoue, Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) President Masando Hashimoto, TMP Chairman Alfred Ty, Autoplus’ Carlos Gono and Luis Gono, TMP SVP Sherwin Chua-Lim, and RRG ambassadors AJ Pare and Nicolette dela Cruz. PHOTO BY ANJO PEREZ

The idea is straightforward: give car lovers a place to meet, exchange ideas, and enjoy their common interest. Customers and car clubs from all brands will be welcome, opening the doors to a much wider community than Toyota owners alone.

That approach reflects Toyoda’s vision for a gathering place where conversations can cross brand boundaries. Whether someone arrives in a carefully restored classic, a modified hatchback, or a weekend sports car, there should be something to talk about.

For the tuner crowd, one of the biggest attractions will be the availability of performance parts and tuning services handled by Autoplus, with the father-and-son team of Carlos and Luis Gono.

The Gono name is familiar to followers of Philippine tuning and motorsports. Carlos established Autoplus in late 1994, building the business from a small garage into a performance specialist whose projects have included a 1,000-horsepower Nissan Skyline R34 and a Ford GT that reached 206 mph, according to the company’s history.

Luis brings his own competition experience to the operation. He became the inaugural Toyota Vios Cup champion in 2014 at just 15 years old, having started in karting before moving into circuit racing and drifting. He also won the inaugural Formula V1 championship in 2018.

Their involvement gives the Manila garage a connection to the local tuning community and to people who have spent years preparing and driving performance cars. For owners planning upgrades, that experience should be a major draw.

Toyota Manila Bay will also have an on-site presence featuring the GR Yaris, GR Corolla, GR86, and GR Supra. The lineup brings together Toyota’s performance hatchbacks and rear-wheel-drive sports cars, giving visitors plenty to examine before the conversation turns to modifications.

The concept presented during the unveiling identifies four main elements: a car club gathering place, a dealership, a tuning shop, and a karting academy.

Each answers a different part of the enthusiast’s wish list — meeting other owners, buying a GR car, personalizing a vehicle, or learning about racing through karting. Together, they suggest a place where someone can arrive with a passing interest in cars and find several ways to take it further.

Toyota also introduced the management team that will oversee the garage’s operations when it opens in December.

Poch Molina has been appointed general manager, with Carlo Ablaza serving as adviser. Mike Santos will head showroom operations and marketing, while Charlie Osia will oversee parts and tuning, an important part of the facility’s appeal to enthusiasts looking to upgrade or personalize their vehicles.

Darius Tagubase has been named head of administration, while Chico Belandres will handle finance.

The appointments put a management structure behind a facility that will combine retail operations, automotive services, motorsports activities, and car club gatherings under one roof.

Also introduced during the unveiling were Rookie Racing Garage Manila’s ambassadors: Maricar Tanjueco, Rycca Timog, AJ Pare and Nicolette dela Cruz. The four will represent the garage as it builds its presence in the Philippine automotive community ahead of its December opening.

The presentation also traced how the Manila project developed. Initial discussions with Toyoda, known in racing as Morizo, took place during the Super Taikyu event in May 2025. Planning sessions led by Ty followed from June through October, with TMP presenting its garage proposal to Toyoda in November.

Groundbreaking took place in January 2026, followed by construction inspections from February through September.

Behind the project is Rookie Racing’s belief in using motorsports to improve both cars and the people working on them. The Japanese team competes in categories including Super Taikyu, Super GT, and Super Formula, and established its garage near Fuji Speedway in 2022.

For Filipino enthusiasts, the attraction will be having a place where that racing connection can become part of an ordinary visit. They can look at cars, discuss a build, explore performance parts, or meet club members without waiting for the next race weekend.

It also gives the local car community something valuable: a permanent address where the conversation can continue after an event ends.

With Autoplus handling tuning, Toyota Manila Bay bringing the GR lineup, a dedicated management team running the facility and a concept that welcomes every brand, Rookie Racing Garage Manila has the ingredients to become a regular stop for enthusiasts.

The next question, naturally, is how much further Toyota’s Philippine motorsports ambitions might go.

Asked whether TMP’s next step would be to build its own racetrack in the Philippines, much as Toyota has Fuji Speedway in Japan, Ty said that is the dream.