Aguilar true to form at Casino Grand Prix

Oscar Aguilar of Caltex Havoline Oil displayed precision driving as he won both of his races in the National Touring Car Championships (NTCC) series of the Casino Filipino Grand Prix 2k3 at the Batangas Racing Circuit (BRC) in Rosario, Batangas last Sunday.

Despite the lack of familiarization with the BRC tracks, Aguilar timed 35:01:51 to rule the morning race with a 12-second lead over rival Mike Francisco. He returned in the afternoon and increased his winning margin over Francisco by 17 seconds in a mighty show of force that served as a fitting follow-up to his twin victories in the same venue a month ago.

Aguilar compiled a 25:30.89 clocking to overwhelm Francisco (25:37.39) in the afternoon.

"I didn’t expect to have a very impressive run, although I was optimistic that I can improve my performance," Aguilar, skipper of the Havoline Racing team sponsored by Gatorz Precision Eyewear, Nodalo’s mufflers, Auto Trend, Hyper Parts and Rota Wheels, and Brembo Brake Disc, distributed by Gold Wing Trading.

Aguilar’s two impressive runs netted him 30 points as a first-place finish in every race is awarded 15 points.

"Oscar’s impressive run is a product of his hard work and dedication to his craft. I also credit Havoline Energy Synthetic, which has been a constant in our winning campaigns for years, to his stunning twin wins," said Havoline product manager Paul Familara.

The father of motocross superstar Glenn Aguilar also had a smashing follow-up to his consistent performance in last week’s SVI Challenge Cup, where he grabbed the Class C lead.

"It’s been more than a month since I last ran the tracks here at BRC and I only got a chance to practice here when I got here last Friday. There were also the other drivers from the other categories, who had practice runs a day before the race (Saturday) so I thought I would make the proper adjustments on the track’s courses," he added.

Meanwhile, Caltex Havoline Oil’s Arvin Dureco and JP Carino placed within the top three in the morning race while teammate Jeremy Marquez took the top spot in the afternoon race in the afternoon as the three drivers posted impressive results in the Formula Toyota races.