Hoikka, MacDonald wow big crowd on TRS raceday

MANILA, Philippines - Motorcycle enthusiast-turned-circuit-car-racer Jussi Hoikka and former PTCC champion Stuart MacDonald again dominated their respective divisions to fortify their title quests in the 2012 TRS Cup on a day thousands of fans turned out to catch the thrill and enjoy off-track fun recently at the Clark International Speedway.

Spectators as well as members of the various car clubs and media organizations got a peek at a huge number of European high-end cars that participated in the Track Day during showdowns for the titles.

The TRS Cup is powered by Castrol, Bridgestone, Standard Insurance, Coke Zero, OMP, AAP, Ford Alabang,Aguila Auto Glass,  Speedlab, Emotions, C! Magazine, Lifeline Ambulance, Kotse.com, HasTravel  and Business World.

After sweeping the Novice division in the first three rounds, Hoikka topped both rounds 4 and 6, beating all the Expert drivers in the combined field while MacDonald, who ruled two of the three races in the kickoff leg, won round 5 and captured the Expert title in round 4 to boost his bid for the overall Expert crown.

Showing big potentials as a future champ in the kickoff leg, Hoikka wanted to know how far he could still push his limits.  Posting the second fastest laptime of 2:32.750 in the qualifying run, he quickly grabbed the lead from polesitter Alvin Ng and pulled ahead.

As Hoikka gained distance, focus shifted on the intense struggle for positions as karting champ Basti Escalante of Team Standard Pro Insurance and Korean GT200 winner Micky Kim, who started fifth and sixth, respectively, put up a daring fight against more experienced racing champs Sean Redpath and MacDonald, and dragged Ng down to sixth.

At the end of the eight-lap race, Hoikka emerged overall winner with a huge 6.769-second lead to capture the Novice title in round 4.