Ace drivers vie in nat’l dragfest

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s top drivers gear up for another explosive showdown as the Petronas Philippine Drag Racing Championship gets going Saturday at the Clark International Speedway in Pampanga.

Defending champion Jonathan Tiu of JCT-Blanche Racing leads more than a hundred drivers vying for top honors in various divisions in the event sponsored by Petronas, Yokohama, GT Radials, M&H Tires and media partner Racing Beat at Wave 89.1.

Titles to be disputed are the Quick 8, M&H Super Pro Class, M&H Pro, Yokohama Expert, Sportsman, and the GT Radial Hotstreet.

Tiu, who bagged his seventh national drag racing crown last season, expects a tough challenge from a host of rivals headed by Martin Manalo of RSL Motorsports.

The H3 Autoworks team, bannered by Pepi Santos, John Kalaw, Bong Hilario, Edwin and Edison Cayco, is also fancied in the event together with the Vannitec squad of Vanni Garcia, When When and Why Why Dagondon.

Former US Servicemen John Ryzia, Steve Caldwell, Christopher Sheaves and last year’s M&H Super Pro champ William Hand of AHRA-Garage Racing lead the foreign challenge with their American V8 muscle cars against the

four-cylinder vehicles in the faster divisions like the Quick 8, M&H Super Pro and the M&H Pro classes.

Aside from JCT-Blanche Racing, AHRA Garage, H3 Autoworks, Vannitec and RSL Motorsports, other teams competing are HP Racing, Explorer, Temz, Kapshop, Ready, Bertspeed, Cabspeed, SE Racing, Mohspeed and Astrago.

Drag racing director Fil Gulfin has advised the participants to come early and avail themselves of the practice time to set their qualifying times and at the same time make the necessary adjustments with their respective set-ups.

For details, contact the Batangas Racing Circuit c/o Nelson Gayola or Rodini Rivera at (632) 729-7241-42, 729-5365 or fax 844-7766, or 0922 8858410 or like us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/ Batangas Racing Circuit.