New stars rise in Circuit Showdown

MANILA, Philippines - New champions hogged the limelight in front of the largest crowd ever assembled in the series during the seventh round of Circuit Showdown last weekend at the Batangas Racing Circuit.

With 65 entries signed up for the time trials and 19 entered in the grid race, the hundreds of spectators that attended the event were on their feet cheering their favorite drivers throughout the day.

Grid R saw Eggy Ong win his second race this year and Rafael Lao took away valuable points from last year’s champion Marc Thomann.

Nino Garcia, meanwhile, scored back-to-back wins in Grid A. He was followed by championship leader Ferdinand Sia and Paolo Mantolino. JP Pacres, on the other hand, topped Grid B and is now tied in the points standings with Marcus Timbol, who finished second.

In the time trials, Mato Tan closed out the top two spots with his DGL Motorsports-powered Honda CRX and Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 5, which were followed closely by Joby Tanseco in his Nissan Skyline R35.

Hernel Castillo ruled Group B ahead of Jeffrey Roxas-Chua and Chad Parian. Palle Hansen, Jonathan Padilla and Erin Pascual captured the top three places in Group C with just 0.5 second separating them as Ton Ton Ramos, Gilbert Chang and Trek Mendoza bagged Group D honors.

Group E was dominated by Ariel Mayuga followed by Stevie Rojas and Jon Zapanta, while the fastest time for Group F was set by Philip Katipunan followed by Onyl Malabanan and Jules Arambulo in his Toyota Trueno AE86.

The series is supported by Duro Tires, Rota Wheels, DKC Tire Center, Speedlab, Dynapack, V-Kool, Richmond Autoparts, Discovery Suites, Mishimoto, Blox, Recaro, Pitworkz by Hongly, Foil A Car, XYZ Suspension, Z Works Carbon, Runstop Rotors, ECW Performance, Dynamic Suspension, HKS Lubricants, Garage 88 Bar & Resto, Turbo Time, Stoplight TV, 99.5RT and Business Mirror.

The final round is set Oct.1 at the Clark Int’l Speedway, where the grid race champions will be proclaimed. Visit www.circuitshowdown.com for more information.