Title duels up in karting finals

MANILA, Philippines - The hunt for the titles at stake come to a final verdict as the 2009 Magnolia Pure Water Karting Super Series stages its championship round Dec. 5-6 at the Clark International Speedway.

It will be the most exciting showdown ever this season as the karters are expected to draw out their best with the big twist in this final leg sanctioned by the Automobile Association Philippines and sponsored by Magnolia Pure Water, San Miguel Corporation, Petron, Denso, Motorstar and Aeromed.

Points garnered in this leg will be multiplied by 2.5 or a perfect total of 250 points, thus making the quest for the 2009 Karter of the Year plum and other titles at stake unpredictable to the very end.

So far, three Ready2Race karters are in a close fight for the coveted Karter of the Year award - Joey Orduna, Roby Benito and Juha Turalba.

Orduna,14, leads the title race with a six-leg total of 300 points as he hopes to achieve a historic feat as the first karter to win both the Karter of the Year and Junior Karter of the Year diadems in the same season.

Teammate Roby Benito also hopes to pull the same feat as he’s at close second overall with 240 points while Turalba, who’s third overall with 223, hopes to pull off a surprise title-clinching victory after losing the Asian karting crown in Bangkok.

Though they’re the top three title contenders, nothing is yet sure as Jet Racing’s Javi Benitez, Full Throttle Racing’s Andres Calma and Cebuano Patrick Gandionco can still catch up with them.

Benitez is on a big comeback trail following his third place finish in the last leg that puts him in close fourth overall with 222 points, just a single point behind Turalba.

Calma, who pulled a double victory in the last leg at Boomland, is in fifth with 199 while Gandionco, who’s already assured of the ROK Heavy title, follows with 154 points.

Equally exciting are the title showdown in the Formula SL Expert and the Formula SL Heavy classes.

Veteran Indy Villalon is gearing up against AUTS Racing teammates Joseph and John Castelar, and PCR-Tough Gear Racing’s Vencer John Suba for the Formula SL Expert crown.

Villalon is on top with 323 points, while Joseph and John Castelar follow with 305 and 244 points respectively. Suba may be the dark horse being in fourth with 219 points but a sweep of all races could pull the big upset.

PCR-Tough Gear Racing’s Von Medrano also eyes a big victory to capture the Formula SL Heavy title over Archie Rubio and Mike Fox.

For other details, interested parties may contact Carmona Circuit Philippines c/o Rose Feria at 817-2241.