Tiu dominates dragfest kickoff

ANGELES CITY ,Philippines  – Defending champion Jonathan Tiu flashed his top form as he steered his Mitsubishi Evo 5 to another impressive victory in the kickoff of the 2012 Philippine Drag Racing Championships Northern Series recently at the Clark International Speedway.

Tiu, gunning for his 11th title and eighth Drag Racing Driver of the Year plum, submitted a fast time of 10.052 seconds to capture the Quick 8 crown of the event sanctioned by the Automotive Association Philippines and backed by Yokohama, M&H Race Master and powered by Racing Beat@Wave 89.1.

He was 0.634 of a second faster than closest rival William Hand of AHRA-Garage Power, who clocked a surprisingly speedy 10.686 seconds driving a classic American Army jeep.

Jayson Ong won the battle for third place, finishing the quarter-mile race in 10.084 seconds.

Hand, however, got the better of Tiu in the M&H Super Pro Division.

A former US serviceman who’s now based here, Hand ousted Tiu in the quarterfinals with 10.6 seconds, arranging a final showdown with Ong, who upset top contender Pepi Santos of H3 Autoworks.

Hand eventually got off to a good start, leaving Ong behind by a wide margin en route to claiming the title with a time of 10.657 seconds.

Arvin Millet of Millet Speed, last year’s Expert class runner-up, showed big promise in the Pro class by topping the division (13.222 seconds) at the expense of Bong Hilario of H3 Autoworks and former Pro class champion Anthony Go of JCT-Blanche Racing.

Rounding up the winners’ roster were Dietro Carlo Evangelista, Marky Baquiran of Kapshop and lady driver Jeannette Go of JCT-Blanche Racing.

Evangelista ruled the Expert class in 13.802 seconds, turning back defending Expert champion Rommel Dural and Arvin Millet.

For his part, Baquiran topped the Sportsman division (15.5 seconds), prevailing over Jannery Millet and Christian Jay Orque.

Jeannette Go stamped her class against her male rivals, winning the Hotstreet crown over Aaron Lao and Arvin Ragojo.

The next race is set Feb. 18 with the drivers tacking the challenge of the Batangas Racing Circuit for the start of the Southern Series.

For further details, interested parties may contact the Batangas Racing Circuit c/o Nelson Gayola or Rodini Rivera at (632) 7297241-42, 7295365 or fax no. 8447766 and mobile no. 09228858410.