Marcelo breaks Anton's reign in Circuit Showdown

Manila, Philippines - Stefano Marcelo, clocking in a 1:44.809, beat the track record by over a second and almost two seconds ahead of championship leader Carlos Anton in the Open Class in a huge reversal in the fifth leg of the GT Radial-Circuit Showdown last week at the Batangas Racing Circuit.

Bracket B honors went to Toby Santiago, Chad Parian and JP Pacres.

Jesse Manze extended his lead in Bracket C over Alan Arguelles and Marvin Cabreza. Davao driver Nico Canyete, meanwhile, topped Bracket D followed by Mao Dy and Edwin Rodriguez.

The Mitsubishi-dominated Bracket E victory went to Lexter Sy, followed by Alain Matias and Edward Pujol.

Jeremy Jimenez, Patrick Suiza and Alex Ramos, on the other hand, sealed it in Bracket F.

The drew over 60 entrants for the Time Trial event and 25 cars in the Grid Race, with participants from as far as Cebu and Davao taking part in the event.

The seven-lap sprint race saw Paolo Mantolino lead from start to finish in the Grid A race followed closely by Nino Garcia and Rafael LaO. Underdog Alan Arguelles again showed that control outweighs horsepower by edging former F3 driver Philip Alvendia and GT driver Bong Perez in Grid B. In Grid C, Marcus Timbol passed Edward Pujol on the last lap to take the win with Sandy de Guzman on his heels.

Circuit Showdown is supported by GT Radial, HKS SuperOil, Rota Wheels, V-Kool, Staging Lanes, Egghead, Top Gear Philippines, Dixcel, ACCS, Runstop Rotors, PhilGerma, Foil A Car, ECW Performance, and Discovery Suites.

For more info log on to www.circuitshowdown.com.