Green Flag for the Ford Lynx Cup

"Fun!"

That’s what the three top drivers of the Ford Lynx Cup exclaimed in unison when asked about what their first weekend’s worth of adrenaline-charged racetrack action was like. Still garbed in sweat and champagne-soaked race suits, they were visibly relishing the moment as evidenced by silly grins on their faces that presumably won’t get wiped off in the next few weeks.

With the exception of Mark Bumgarner, the trio of Gibson Yu, Allen Ong and Randy Paray consistently finished in the top spots of the the first three races of the FLC which was held last weekend at the Batangas Racing Circuit, dominating the rest of the competitors who apparently signed up for the race series to have loads of adrenaline-charged fun as well.

Considered these days as the best bet for novices to land on a starting grid in circuit racing, the FLC is organized by the Tuason Racing School, headed by racing hotshot JP Tuason and wife Jeanette. A one-make race series, Ford Lynx cars that were slightly modified (mostly for safety stuff like rollcages, bucket seats and harnesses, and some exhaust and suspension tweaking) are used for the competition. To ensure a level playing field, the cars are raffled every race weekend among the racers, so a competitor’s skill is paramount over equipment — or sheer luck that he or she may get a slightly faster car than the others.

Now on its second season, the FLC falls under what’s commonly referred to in the racing biz as a pay-per-drive, arrive-and-drive program. In the FLC’s case, the race driver aspirants pay P150,000 and posts a refundable P50,000 bond each — which may initially seem like a hefty sum. But not when you consider that it gets one a race driving training course from the TRS, a race suit and of course, the privilege to compete on a real racing circuit in a real circuit race series aboard a real race car. Also, the participants are not required to work on their cars, as the TRS crew will prepare the cars for them. Really, all the competitors will have to do is show up on Friday practice, and race on Saturday afternoon and Sunday. Three races are held in each of the three race weekends, making a total of nine races for the season. Not a bad deal at all.

This year, signing up for the series were seven adventurous souls whose diversity is truly interesting as it includes a forty-something former government official and a 13-year old "wunderkid" racer.

Oldest among the bunch is Mike Toledo, who used to be an acting press secretary and is now very optimistic about his new sport. Another aspirant is Jeff Roxas-Chua, a 16-year old student who, during last Sunday’s afternoon race, defended his position well from the attacks of the aggressive and highly talented Bumgarner. Bumgarner, who is all of 13 years old, already has his fair share of accolades in karting, having been named Junior Karter of the Year last year.

Two women joined the series also. One is 20-year old student Erika Morales, who probably got bit by the racing bug courtesy of her brother Renan, who races in another series. The other lady racer is Jeena Morales, a 32-year old mother and part-time writer whose business venture is quite extreme; a wall-climbing gym at the Rockwell mall.

Then there are Yu and Ong. Yu, who describes himself as a couch potato, apparently took the leap from channel-surfing to racing with success, as he placed 1st in Saturday afternoon’s Race 1 and 2nd in both races on Sunday. Ong, for his part, is also a racing and car nut who excelled in the racetrack last weekend. Ong, no thanks to a time penalty for hitting a pylon, placed 4th in Race 1, but came back with a vengeance on Sunday’s races by topping both. Clearly, he’s the guy to watch out for in the FLC.

"I really enjoyed the experience," Ong said after the awarding ceremony. "Even if we raced against each other, we kept it clean and respected the rules also. So it was really satisfying."

Paray, meanwhile, did not take the route the others did on the way to the FLC starting grid. Instead, Paray opted for the free race seat program wherein 250 other hopefuls competed in the C! Top Driver Challenge, a nationwide event that pits "racers" against one another in the Daytona 200 and Initial D video arcade games. Topping the field in arcade gaming, Paray was selected by the TRS as The One to get the free Lynx seat based on the school’s own criteria, which includes an "X" factor rule.

"And we do get it right," says JP Tuason regarding this "X" factor selection thing. "Last year’s TDC winner, Jeff Borja, dominated the field last season. Now, he’s in Australia racing formula cars!" Tuason beams.

Well, guess Tuason got it right with Paray also. The young Cebuano placed 2nd in Race 1 and 3rd in the Sunday races. Nuff said.

(The FLC is sponsored by Ford Group Philippines, Addict Mobile, Standard Insurance, Goodyear, Petron Ultron, Petron XCS, Ambi Pur, Red Horse, Adidas, Casio G-Shock, Oakley, Brother’s Burger, K&N Filters, H&R Springs, Options Unlimited, Racegear Pitshop, Octane Racewear with media partners The Philippine STAR, C! Magazine, Auto Extreme Trapik.com and Motorista.com.ph.)