Team Seaoil Extreme 97 takes 1st runner-up

MANILA, Philippines - The Seaoil Extreme 97 – DarkSide Racing Team took to the Batangas Racing Circuit to compete for the first time in the most recent leg of the Philippine National Drag Racing Championship. The team came home with a surprise in the form of two trophies.

Driving for the team were Jeff Borja, Diane Montecillo, Mark Borja, and Marvin Montecillo, supported by Seaoil Extreme97, 3M Automotive, Autotechnika-Dynapak dynamometers, Denso sparkplugs, H&R Springs, Bilstein, Ultra Racing, A-Toy Customs, Motech Service, and dragracingpinoy.com.

It was a disappointing start to the afternoon, with Marvin’s turbocharged streetcar suffering some damage in qualifying sessions, and Mark eventually losing out to more experienced runners in his class. The pressure was on Diane and Jeff to hold up team honors, in what was their very first outing at the Southern drag racing series.

With the intense summer heat only adding more pressure to the situation, both drivers showcased exactly how to stay cool and calm in the heat of competition. Jeff Borja qualified in the Sportsman division, won twice, and then suffered a faulty launch control system in the 3rd round. This forced him to regroup and learn the ideal launch with no computer assist in 10 minutes. But again, this proved but a minor inconvenience for the team who had Dondi Montecillo, multiple drag racing champion, giving his guidance in the pit garage. Despite the setback, Jeff still went on to win the next rounds and earn himself a race in the final championship round against veteran drag racer Sherwin Esguerra to take home the runner-up trophy.

On the other side of the Seaoil-DSR garage, Diane qualified in the Hotstreet division piloting her PPCC circuit racecar, against all the boy racers in the south, it seemed. Being the only female racer that afternoon to qualify, Diane wasn’t even slightly intimidated, taking the opportunity to blow past her competition one by one, until the boys showed some more respect. Finally, after beating the boys in several consecutive rounds, she earned a race in the championship round and took home the runner-up trophy for the team after a long and hot afternoon at the racetrack.

“It was a highly intense but very enjoyable day at the races! Thank you to all the organizers, competitors, and of course our supporters. See you all next race,” said Diane, after the awarding.