O’Hara, Peña gain pole in AF3 super prix

SUBIC – John O’Hara of Ireland and local prodigy Dado Peña will be at the forefront in today’s pole positions in the second leg of the Asian Formula 3 (AF3) Super Prix Series here at the Subic International Raceway (SIR).

O’Hara, representing Shell Kinetic Racing, clocked one minute and 10.5 seconds in the qualifying time trials (QTT) yesterday to secure the top pole overall for the second straight AF3.

Peña, driving for Christian Jones Motorsports, registered the two best times in the promotions division QTT to take grid No.1 in his division.

Christian Jones of Australia, the winner of the twin races at the Batangas Racing Circuit (BRC) last April, placed second behind O’Hara yesterday.

Jones finished a little under three-tenths of a second behind his Irish counterpart with a time of one minute and 10.78 seconds, as the two foreigners duplicated their 1-2 finish at the pole in the BRC stop.

The 16-year-old Peña, one of three emerging young guns in the local AF3 scene, submitted a time of one minute and 12.32 seconds in the 14th lap.

His second fastest finish – one minute and 12.35 seconds in the 11th lap – was even better than the best time registered by Tyson Sy of Castrol Team Goddard-Minardi Team Asia.

"I’m confident. The times, the consistency, it’s all there. We just gotta put it through tomorrow," said Peña, who was third in the promotions class – the division Sy dominated twice in Batangas.

"We changed the engine. We ordered some new parts like suspension. It’s basically a new car fit into an old chassis. I can say that my car is A-1 right now," added Peña, who drives a TOMS Toyota 01 spec.

Together with Sy and 18-year-old Don Pastor of Team TOMS-Eclipse-Petron, Peña forms what racing aficionados consider the future of AF3 in the Philippines.

"I’m expecting to win. The car is great; everything’s in place. It’s gonna be close. Tyson’s been there. Tyson’s got a great car. It’s hard to tell," said Peña.

"The confidence is pretty much high. Car feels good. I’m confident from the start. We put a good setup on the car. From there, we’ve been pushing and pushing. The car’s been good to us all week. We just had like a few problems along the way but I feel good this week," he added.

Jojo Silverio of Speedtech Asia, the top Filipino in the international class at the BRC, also registered a breakthrough time in the QTT.

His 11th lap finish of one minute and 11.01 seconds put the veteran driver at third in the pole while it cracked the foreign stranglehold of the top three spots.

Mark Goddard, Sy’s teammate and third on the grid last April, settled for fourth.

Defending champion Pepon Marave of Shell Kinetic Racing will still start today despite being unable to finish in the QTT yesterday.

Marave, the champion of the Batangas and Subic chapters last year, will be at the tailend of the pole at 14th spot.

The AF3 Super Prix series is telecast live today over NBN-4.

It is supported by Yokohama, Addict, Denso, Department of Tourism, Philippine Convention and Visitors Corporation, Samsung, Standard Insurance, Petron, Forest Hills Subic, Manila Bulletin, Philippine Star, Airborne Access, Trust Condoms, TNT.

Live radio updates are provided by NU Rock 107.5, dzRJ Radio Bandido and dzSR Sports Radio.