Del Rosario pads lead in jetsports

Rider of the Year: 1. Paul del Rosario 240 pts. 2. Carlo Baltao 228 pts. 3. John Dee 221 pts. 4. Rene Pamaran 209 pts.

SUBIC — Defending champion Paul del Rosario and John Dee shared honors as they posted perfect feats last weekend in the second leg of the 2001 Petron National Jetsports Series at the Waterfront Beach here.

It was the second perfect feat in this series for Del Rosario who immediately stepped on the gas and pulled a wide margin over his rivals to rule the premiere Expert Runabout Super Stock 1200 over second placer James Baltao and Carlo Baltao.

The victory also fortified his bid for a three-peat crown as he now holds solo leadership with a total of 240 points in this series sponsored by Petron Corporation and WG&A Super Ferry.

Dee, the 1998 champion, flashed his old form in the Expert Runabout 785-1200 class where he eclipsed Del Rosario and James Baltao to move third overall for the coveted Rider of the Year award.

Two riders from Pagadian City - Rene Pamaran and Ferdinand Pulmones - likewise hogged the limelight with their convincing triumphs in their respective classes.

Pamaran held his fort throughout the 12-lap race to upset erstwhile leader Carlo Baltao and third placer Ben Sun Que in the Expert Runabout Super Stock division.

Pulmones warded off the strong challenge from Harley David and Excel Torres to win the Novice Runabout Super Stock.

Also posting impressive wins are Excel Torres and Bobby Del Rosario in the combined Novice and Veterans race which is fast becoming a favorite, luring a total of 12 participants.

Torres showed his stuff in the Novice division over newcomer Jeremy Chua and veteran car racer Roland Hermoso while the older Del Rosario also showed endurance and skills in the veterans class over Dong Arcilla and Willy Ang.

The weekend race featured the comeback of the Women’s and the Stand Up classes and the mechanics race which turned out to be crowd drawers.

Kathy de los Santos won the Women’s race over Samantha Pastor and newcomer Angel Dee while Paul del Rosario took his second trophy in the Stand-Up class where he outclassed John Dee and Arnold Martinez.

Team Networx mechanic Yanik Elnar bagged P1,000 and a trophy in the mechanics race, beating Autoline’s Ed Montecastro and Joel Fronda.