Three-way fight looms in Petron karting

MANILA, Philippines - Top karters test their skills on a different course as action shifts to the Batangas Racing Circuit for the second leg of the Petron Karting Super Series Sunday.

A three-way fight among defending champion Stefano Marcelo of Maranello-San Miguel Corp., Cebuano Jette Calderon of Jet Racing and Roby Benito of Ready2Race looms as they dispute the premier ROK overall crown.

Marcelo, gunning for an unprecedented fourth Karter-of-the-Year award, is seeking his second straight triumph after pulling a big sweep in the kickoff leg last month.

Calderon, last year’s Clubman Karter of the Year, hopes to spring a surprise after battling Marcelo to a tight finish in their last encounter. He’s also going for back-to-back title romp in the ROK Junior class against Jet Racing teammate Franco Reyes and Japanese Marino Sato.

Benito, the current Junior Karter of the Year, made it third in the kickoff leg but hopes to top the Batangas leg for the third straight year.

Joining them in the combined field are Juha Turalba of Ready2Race, Arvin Drueco, FERN-C Racing’s Estefano Rivera, VJ and Vrei-Ar Suba and Daniel Miranda of Cebuana Lhuillier-Marcelo Racing.

The SQ Kart Race, meanwhile, features Don Batino and Ready2Race bets Daniel Castaneda and John Effinger. Batino seeks a repeat over Jet Racing’s Peterson Lim and Raul Baretto in both the SQ overall and expert classes.

John Effinger hopes to make it another 1-2-3 finish for Ready2Race in the SQ Veterans class together with Edmunds and first-timer Jon Julian while Daniel Castaneda guns for his second straight SQ novice crown over Mark Laxa and third placer Paulo Cabrera.

The event is sanctioned by the Automobile Association Philippines (AAP) and sponsored by Petron, SMC, Denso Iridium Power, Motorstar and Yokohama Phils.

For details, contact Carmona Racetrack (Rose Feria) at 817-2241 or log on to www.asiankarting.com.