Coseteng bags third driver-of-the-year title

Superstar Caltex-Havoline-Autoplus driver Jody Coseteng re-affirmed his status as the country’s best in circuit racing by bagging his third Driver of the Year award with flourish in the SVI Challenge at the Subic Raceway recently.

Toting an enormous lead over his closest pursuers in the premier blaze super saloon category, Coseteng had the luxury of even skipping the 13th and 14th rounds and still win it all.

But the top Caltex driver still went all out for the jugular and was rewarded with twin victories in the final two rounds.

"I only had to respond to the competitive juices flowing within," said Coseteng, whose car is specially designed by Autoplus. "I figured that if I were to win the award, then I might as well win it in style."

Sharing the limelight with Coseteng were teammates Dr. Peewee Mendiola, team captain Oscar Aguilar and Mikko David.

Mendiola, an eye surgeon, was named novice overall champion with Aguilar placing first runnerup in the Class C division. David, on the other hand, ended the season with a bang by topping the 14th round of the Class B bracket.

"This is the culmination of a yearlong hard work on everybody’s part," said Paul Familara, Caltex Philippines’ product category manager for lubricant sales and marketing.

"The great man-made machines by Autoplus and the proven quality of Caltex Havoline’s fully synthetic oil have been a tremendous boost in our campaign but the human factor is still the most important key to the success of the Caltex-Havoline team. The desire for excellence, that is the most important thing and that is what this team has plenty of," he added.

Aguilar, whose son Glenn is a six-time motocross Rider of the Year, has vowed to keep Caltex as the premier circuit racing team in the country.

"I expect the success of Caltex-havoline team this year to inspire us more next year," said Aguilar. "Reaching the top is the easy part. The harder one is staying there."