Benito tops Marcelo in karting leg

MANILA, Philippines - Roby Benito of Ready2Race humbled two-time champion Stefano Marcelo to rule the second leg of the Magnolia Purewater Karting Super Series at the Batangas Racing Circuit in Batangas recently.

It was a big win for the 15-year-old Benito, who captured the ROK overall and the ROK Junior titles.

“It’s nice to be back,” said Benito, who last won at the Enchanted Kingdom Kart Trak in August last year. “I just had a great feeling that I would win especially after the pre-final race. I told myself to give it a little more push and that’s what I did.”

Actually, Marcelo dominated the time trials, the qualifying heat and the pre-final race despite shifting to a TonyKart after his Maranello broke down.

But Benito, just 0.129 of a second behind Marcelo after the pre-final race, exploited a mix-up that sent Franco Reyes of Jet Racing in front in the fourth lap. Two laps later, Benito wrested the top spot and held on to his post the rest of the way.

Benito completed the 10-lap final race in 12 minutes and 51.917 seconds or just 0.120 of a second ahead of Turalba.

Marcelo settled for third, 0.350 of a second behind Benito while Reyes and Javi Benitez ended fourth and fifth, respectively.

The event is sanctioned by the Automobile Association Philippines and sponsored by Magnolia Purewater, San Miguel Corporation, Petron Corporation, Denso Iridium Power, Motorstar and Aeromed.

Benito also copped the ROK Junior crown over Reyes and Cebuano Tonyo Carcel of AUTS Racing.

Turalba also won the ROK Senior crown over Marcelo and Benitez.

Despite the loss, Marcelo remained in the lead with 134 points while Benito stood at second with 98 points.

Joseph Castelar posted his second straight win in the Formula SL class, beating Tonyo Carcel and Kim Lagman.

Details: Carmona Circuit Philippines c/o Rose Feria at 817-2241.