Ramirez, Ong rule Subic GP

SUBIC — Kookie Ramirez of Petron-SRA and Ferdie Ong of Rota-Speedwelle-Outlast Battery opened their respective title campaigns in style, sweeping to victory in the first two rounds in the Petron Blaze super saloon category of the 2001 SVI-Subic Grand Prix before a big holiday crowd at the Subic International Raceway.

Ramirez, who took up the cudgels for a tightly-knit family long associated with car racing, seized top honors in the season-opening round following a tight battle with Nilo Pazcoguin of Tom’s-Auto Trend and Mike Aguilar of Caltex.

And Ong, looking to follow up a surprisingly strong finish last year, dominated the second round with superb driving maneuvers over Pazcoguin and two-time champion and top favorite Jody Coseteng of Toyota-Team Tom’s.

Ong’s teammate, Benedict de la Cruz, finished fourth in both races, which were held as part of the "Asian Festival of Speed."

Veteran Mike Potenciano of MP Turbo-Gulf Oil struggled to eighth place in the second round of the Petron-sponsored super saloon race.

The same order of finishers will also take effect in the first two rounds of the Philippine National Touring Car Championships, although 1999 champion Miguel Ramirez of Petron-SRA will be added to the list of entries.

The younger Ramirez is competing only in the PNTCC, and not in the Blaze super saloon series this year.

"It’s an auspicious start for our eighth season. We have more participants and the competition will surely be a lot more interesting this year," said Sports Values, Inc. (SVI) president and defending champion Pocholo Ramirez.

Ramirez, who at 68 became the toldest race driver to win the national title last year, did not see action and left the spotlight mostly to his younger competitors.

Aguilar and Pazcoguin shared the limelight in super saloon B, while Ricardo Loi of GNC-Agip-Madison and Dominic Bon of Petron-SRA split top honors in super saloon C.

In the SVI Challenge Cup, movie/television actor Monching Gutierrez of MP Turbo and Tom Pastor of Team TEC won one race each to take the headstart.