Underdog stuns defending champ in underbone race

MANILA, Philippines - Bryan Ortile and John Lery Enriquez dominated their respective classes to lead the charge of the lesser lights at the start of the Philippine Underbone King Championships and the FDR Philippine Scooter Racing Championships at the Batangas Racing Circuit in Rosario, Batangas recently.

Ortile used his experience to beat defending Underbone King Anthony Roman of Castrol-Dudshop in the Underbone division while Enriquez turned back titleholder Miko Montano in the Scooter category both sanctioned by the Underbone and Scooters Racing Association (USRA) and backed by FDR as the official tires and media partner Inside Motoring @DZRJ 810khz.

Ortile fought his way through a tight five-way dicing that included Roman and his Castrol-Dudshop teammate Niño Fabian, Marvin Mangulabnan and Paul Mark Doblada majority of the seven-lap race then outsmarted his rivals in the last few meters to grab the lead and claim the checkered flag in the premier 150cc Underbone.

He clocked 13 minutes, 43.078 seconds or 0.104 of a second ahead of Fabian.

Roman checked in third 0.111 of a second behind Ortile while Mangulabnan and Doblada followed 0.352 and 0.831 of a second for fourth and fifth, respectively.

Vrei-AR Suba also captured the 115cc. Open crown, beating Robert Matthew Ramos, John Emerson Inguito and Clint Nolasco.

Enriquez, meanwhile, clinched the premier 180cc. Automatic Scooter title by just 0.687 of a second ahead of Montano and 0.867 of a second over Ivan Santiago.

Robert Ramos ruled the 160cc. Automatic Scooter class by just 0.054 of a second in front of runner-up Romer Corbe. Robert Adriano took third place while Juver Mirasol and Nicolo Ramos ended fourth and fifth, respectively.

Koko Tadachi emerged the 130cc. Automatic Scooter champion, beating John Paul Suba and Apollo Gaboy.

Other winners were McKinley Paz, who won the Honda Beat Cup over Whitmar Alvarez and Gian Carlo Mauricio; and Fritz Clereria, who bagged the Honda Dash Cup over John Edward Godoy and Medardo Noto.