Caltex’s Coseteng virtual champ, rider of the year

After four consecutive setbacks, crowd favorite and Caltex Havoline-Autoplus lead driver Jody Coseteng came back with a vengeance.

He raced like there’s no more tomorrow and pulled the deciding sweep that virtually clinched the Philippine National Touring Car crown and the coveted Driver of the Year last leg staged at the Batangas Racing Circuit in Rosario, Batangas.

With the win, Coseteng amassed a total 132 points and all he needs to do is to formally claim the championship trophy even if he doesn’t race in the final leg set Oct. 26-27 at the Subic International Raceway.

"It’s all in the bag," said Autoplus co-team owner Carlos Gono as soon as Coseteng reached the finish line.

"It was the win that mattered most. We never had doubts that Coseteng will deliver the goods. His victory only proved the tandem of Caltex Havoline and Autoplus’ high performance cars is simply perfect for circuit racing," said Paul Familara, Caltex Philippines product category manager for lubricants sales and marketing.

It proved to be a hassle-free weekend for Coseteng as Autoplus team manager Raul Ylanan made sure all variables were checked to ensure the victory.

Even Caltex Havoline-Autoplus co-driver Nilo Pazcoguin unveiled a much better performance, winding up fourth and third in Race 9 and 10, respectively.

"I thank my sponsors Caltex Havoline, Autoplus and Red Horse for not giving up on me. The season was tainted by unexpected turn of events that almost put our title bid at risk, but they were still there with their full support," said Coseteng.

Tension gripped the start of the first race as Jojo Silverio stuck too close for comfort in the first four laps. But Coseteng kept his poise, putting up a strong defensive line at the curve and jacked up speed at the straight to pull ahead on the eighth lap.

He finished the 15-lap race in 34:29.479 or 5.203 seconds ahead of Silverio.

The heavy afternoon rains further proved Autoplus’ precision in car preparation. The rain tires set up by Autoplus mechanics made the big difference.

Midway the final race, Coseteng was already 19 seconds ahead of Silverio.

"We were really praying for the rain," said Ylanan. "The rain tires made the big difference. Even in the qualifying round, our rain tires made the car faster by three seconds compared to the wet set-up of the other team."