Then it happened. The 25-year-old Irishman, runner-up last year and in 2004, spun out in the fourth lap while tailing Sy at the second turn of the 3.4-kilometer circuit, nearly hitting the Filipino top gun.
With his closest pursuer out of the race, the 18-year-old lead driver of Speedtech Asia zoomed away to his second straight win, clocking 16 minutes and 37.023 seconds, besting the competition by nearly 15 seconds and warming the hearts of the jampacked crowd at the grandstand.
Counting the 20 points he won in the opening round, Sy will go into the third round later Sunday with 40 points, 10 points ahead of AF3 newcomer Dillon Battistini of England who finished second for the second straight time in the series backed by PLDT myDSL, PLDT myPAD, Yokohama Tires, Lima City Hotel, Denso Spark Plugs, Big Shot Billiards, Suzuki, Oxy Enhanced Water, Tuason Racing School, Ford and Mossimo.
"I had a good launch, there was no problem with the car. But I was shocked when I saw John in my rear view mirror," said Sy, expecting Battistini, who started second on the grid, to be his closest rival for round honors.
With O’Hara of Aran Racing fast gaining ground, Sy said he was willing to give up the lead and avoid a crash if the Irishman would push it. It didn’t happen.
Instead, O’Hara, who had grabbed second from Battistini as early as the second lap, wound up 13th, finishing just three laps of the 12-lap race.
O’Hara, obviously upset, excused himself from being interviewed while Sy started entertaining thoughts of winning this year’s overall title.
"I was only thinking of a top three finish this season but after these wins hindi na masamang mag-isip na kayang manalo," said Sy, noting that Christian Jones of Australia, the 2004 winner, and Ananda Mikola of Indonesia, last year’s topnotcher, went on to win the overall titles after dominating the early rounds of the series.