Suba rallies, tops nat'l karting

MANILA, Philippines - VJ Suba staged a big comeback in the final race to rule the fourth leg of the Philippine National Karting Series at the Carmona Racetrack in Cavite recently.

Suba of Tough Gear-FERN C Racing bucked engine problems and posted big wins in both the ROK Overall and ROK Senior classes as he foiled the bid of teammate Estefano Rivera for a third consecutive twin-kill in the event sanctioned by the Automobile Association Philippines and sponsored by Motorstar and Aeromed.

Adjustments on his engine set-up held Suba through as he wrested the lead from Rivera in the ninth lap and kept his post all the way to the finish line trouble-free.

He wrapped up the 20-lap race in 14 minutes, 59.384 seconds, 2.402 seconds ahead of Rivera.

Milo Rivera made it a 1-2-3 finish for Tough Gear-FERN C Racing while CJ Tsui of Industria and Kim Lagman checked in fourth and fifth, respectively.

He copped the ROK Senior crown over Milo Rivera and third placer Tsui. Lagman ended up fourth while lady karter Sacha Feliciano of Marcelo Racing landed fifth while claiming the ROK Clubman title over Jaz Monzones.

Despite his runner-up finish, Estefano Rivera remained the solo leader in the ROK Overall and stayed in his bid to become the second karter in history to win both the Karter of the Year and Junior Karter of the Year in a single season. He captured the ROK Junior title over runner-up Daniel Miranda of Cebuana Lhuillier-Marcelo Racing, Jaz Monzones of Natmo Asia-GP1 Racing and Matthew Chan of Tough Gear-FERN C Racing.

Nike Mora took his first defeat but teammate and defending champion Don Batino rose to the occasion for Red Bull Supreme Racing Team, winning the SQ Expert class.

He clocked 11:18.102 in the 15-lap race or nearly five seconds ahead of runner-up Raul Baretto. Jerry Choi Acuna finished third while Lachlan Christie and Peter Kim wound up fourth and fifth, respectively.

Newcomer Luis Gono bagged the SQ Novice crown over Michael Jordan, Michael Bonafe and James Li while Acuna copped the SQ Veteran plum over Jordan.

For details, call the Carmona Racetrack c/o Rose Feria at 845-0745, 889-3389, 845-3287 and 845-4142 or visit the website www.asiankarting.com.