Go humbles male rivals in national drag racing

MANILA, Philippines - Jeannette Go humbled her male rivals to become the first female champion in the 2009 San Mig Coffee National Drag Racing Championship-National Trophy Series at the Clark International Speedway in Clark, Pampanga recently.

Go wrapped up her campaign with three wins and a third place finish to capture the overall Hot Street title in the event sanctioned by the Automobile Association Philippines.

A broken valve forced her to miss action in the final leg but Go accumulated 50 points in the series, enough to net her the crown in the event sponsored by San Miguel Corp., Pilipinas Shell, San Mig Coffee, Yokohama, PagCor and Aeromed.

“Many say that it’s hard for women to stand out in this particular male-dominated sport. But I’m proud to prove them wrong with the big support of MotorCraft-Banaue. This victory should serve as an inspiration to other female drivers to come out and join the event,” said Go.

More than 100 entries took part but heavy rain forced the organizers to postpone the matches in both the Quick 8 and Pro classes. It will be resumed in the next race set Sept. 26 for the opening leg of the 2009 Northern Series also in Clark.

Cholo Dayrit also prevailed over Edison Romano of Team Ready via a double-breakout triumph to claim the runner-up honors behind Go. He had 40 points while Boy Francisco of Team Ready took overall third with 20 points.

Other winners were Jon Sarmiento of Blanche Racing and Chester Ngo of Kanzai Motorsports.

Sarmiento clocked 13.994 seconds to beat Alps Racing’s Akim Cleofe, who timed 14.684 seconds after a double breakout violation in their final showdown. Vic Mallare of Team Ready-GR Canon Dev’t Group. placed third in 15.588 seconds.