Tuason, Tanlu reign in Castrol Future series

Manila, Philippines -  AT Tuason and Mark Francis Tanlu made their mark in the pressure-packed deciding races to capture the overall championships in their respective divisions recently in the third and final leg of the 2012 Castrol Champions of the Future Series at the Carmona Racetrack.

Tuason swept both the Pre-Final and Final races to score an upset romp for the Expert crown while Tanlu amassed enough points to clinch the Novice plum in the event powered by Castrol, Tuason Racing School, BMW, Automobile Association Philippines, AUTSRacing, Standard Insurance, PIKA, OMP, Industria Racing, Carmona Racetrack, Lifeline, The Philippine Star, Has Travel.com, K-Zone, 99.5RT and Timezone.

It was a thriller of a final leg as all 11 young potential champions stepped up and turned the races into a grueling quest for the titles.

Trailing by two points behind Flynn Jackes prior to this leg, Tuason dominated the Pre-Final race over Wils Casequin, Jackes and Tyger Espino and gain a three-point lead in the title race.

Jackes put up a stronger fight to regain lost ground in the Final race as he quickly racked up to second on the third lap and moved too close for comfort behind Tuason. 

A few laps after, he managed to wrest the top spot from Tuason and appeared headed for the title win – only to lose momentum due to a loose chain that forced him to slow down at the main straight of the track. 

Tuason got the lead back and held on to his post all the way to claim the checkered flag and seal the Expert plum with 82 points, 10 points ahead of Jackes.

Even the Novice class wasn’t spared from shocking twists as Tanlu, who dominated the first two rounds, found himself in an unfamiliar spot running third behind two younger relatively newcomers – 10-year-old Jacob Paulo Ang and Eduardo “EJ” Coseteng Jr.

The three, together with lady karter Jelly Ann Knapp, engaged in a tight four-way battle for the lead in the early goings but toward the dying laps, the Novice race was clearly a tight duel between Ang and Coseteng.

Ang eventually swept both races to claim overall third place with 52 points against Coseteng who wound up close overall fourth place with 50.