MANILA, Philippines – Vencer John Suba of Eagle Cement Racing Team (formerly San Miguel Corp.) rose to the challenge and delivered the lone victory for the Philippines as he ruled the premiere Formula 125 Open Senior crown in the third leg of the 2012 Asian Karting Open Championships at the Carmona Racetrack in Cavite recently.
Suba rallied to wrest the top spot in the third lap then held on to claim the top plum in the event sanctioned by the Automobile Association Philippines.
His feat thus foiled Indonesia’s bid for the crown after its former junior champion Senna Sulaiman Noor topped the Pre-Final heat over four-time Karter of the Year Stefano Marcelo and Milo Rivera of Fern-C Racing, who topped the first AKOC race last July.
Rivera kept the lead in the first three laps until Suba, who started sixth on the grid, grabbed the top spot in the fourth lap.
He completed the 28-lap Final race in 20 minutes and 33.650 seconds as Rivera made it a 1-2 finish for the country after checking in 4.653 seconds later. Noor settled for third place with compatriot Yasuo Senna Iriawan of Red White Racing-Indonesia and Marcelo winding up fourth and fifth, respectively, in the event supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and sponsored by Coca-Cola, Yokohama, the official tires, Sparco, Vivere, the official home of Asian karters, Motorstar and Aeromed.
Suba’s heroics came after the Philippines lost its title bids in the Formula 125 Open Junior and the Mini-ROK classes.
Estefano Rivera of Fern-C Racing appeared headed for back-to-back wins as he seized control in the first half of the Final race until Japanese Marino Sato wrested the lead on the 12th lap and pulled away to clinch the Formula 125 Open Junior crown.
Sato clocked 18 minutes and 28.876 seconds in the 22-lap race or 1.996 seconds ahead of Rivera.