Tan, San Juan off to shining start in PTCC series opener

MANILA, Philippines - Veteran William Tan and Leo San Juan got off to smashing starts in the 2012 Philippine Touring Car Championship Series (PTCC) which got under way with a new format recently at the Batangas Racing Circuit.

Tan swept all the races in Division 1 (for 200hp cars) while San Juan prevailed in two of three races in Division 2 (for 150hp cars) of the event organized by the Automobile Association Philippines (AAP) and promoted by Philippine Race Car Driver’s Inc. (PRCDI). Novice driver Alan Arguelles also topped all three races in Division 3 (for 100hp cars).

The 2012 season, co-presented by Tiarra Commercial (Kumho Tires) in partnership with Seaoil Extreme 97, 2GO Travel, Forex, Promethium, Velocity Motors, Honda Cars Kaloocan and Aeromed Ambulance Transport, opened in ceremonies graced by AAP Motorsports committee chairman Mandy Eduque who gave the opening remarks.

Joey Pery, 2010 driver of the year, led the oath of sportsmanship while Jay Javier of Kumho Tires – the official tire and co-presentor, gave the welcome remarks.

The new race format using horsepower cap in each division, simplified scrutineering as all cars must pass the dyno test using Speedlab’s Dynapack machine after each race.

“The new race format and new set of technical rules made the first round races quite interesting. In partnership with Speedlab, scrutineering was made a lot easier wherein after each race, all top 3 cars per division, must pass specific horsepower and torque reading before being eligible for the win. Some cars did not pass the dyno check and were disqualified – thus giving other drivers the chance to win as finishes will automatically determine the positions after each race,” said Mark Desales of AAP Motorsports.

Tan quickly grabbed the lead after qualifying polesitter Enzo Pastor suffered car problems. He controlled the tempo from thereon to rule Race 1 over runner-up Dondon Portugal, third placer Dwight Kevin Carlos and fourth placer Uly Maningding. Pastor tried to bounce back in Race 2 but his effort was good only for third place as Tan prevailed anew over Dwight Kevin Carlos.

Tan completed his sweep after reasserting his victory over Arnel Carlos and son Dwight Kevin.

San Juan came out a big surprise in Division 2 as he turned back Jon Mark Ong in the first two races using his trusty Nissan Sentra race car with Jeff Borja and Douglas Maningding bagging third places. But Race 3 turned more intense as Borja uncorked a great start to emerge the big winner over Maningding (second) and San Juan (third).

Arguelles, on the other hand, managed to pull a sweep in Division 3 against rival Allen Macaraig who suffered car problems during the afternoon race.

The 2012 PTCC Rounds 4, 5 and 6 are scheduled Dec. 1 and 2 at Clark International Speedway.

Information: AAP Motorsports at 655-5889 loc 823.