Dural overall champion in Petronas drag racing

MANILA, Philippines - Rommel Dural of JCT-Blanche Racing survived the grueling battle to emerge the overall champion of the 2013 Petronas Philippine Drag Racing Championship Northern Series recently at the Clark International Speedway.

He shared the limelight with teammate and defending champion Jonathan Tiu who steered the JCT-Blanche Racing Team to a sweep of the major titles when he bagged both the Quick 8 and M&H Super Pro plums.

Dural, who moved up to the Pro Class only this year, became the second of the young breed of talented drag racers to earn a championship belt this season after Marc Manalo of rival team RSL Motorsports captured the 2013 Petronas Philippine Drag Racing Championship Southern Series plum just two weeks ago.

It was one tough finals journey for Dural who had to turn back two young but equally strong contenders – Arvin Millet of TEMZ in the first round and the newly crowned Marc Manalo in the semifinals - before earning his title crack against veteran teammate Jonathan Young.

Young lost all hope after a red light violation that automatically awarded the championship to Dural who wrapped up his campaign with 40 points.

Former champion Martin Manalo of RSL Motorsports, who was also booted out early, clinched the M&H Pro overall runner-up honors with 21 points, with Young just a point behind.

Tiu copped both the Quick 8 and M&H Super Pro crowns by just a slim point at the expense of brothers Teofilo Edwin and Edison Cayco of H3 Autoworks.

He capped his Quick 8 campaign with 36 points against Teofilo Edwin Cayco who had only 35 points after failing to suit up in the race due to transmission problems on his fast Rurex Motorsports car.

Comebacking Vanni Garcia of Vannitec emerged the Quick 8 champion as Tiu ended in a redlight violation in their finals showdown while William Hand of AHRA-Garage Power settled for third.

Tiu bounced back in the M&H Super Pro division with a fast 9.263 seconds against then frontrunning Edison Cayco (10.297).

The win was enough for Tiu to claim the overall M&H Super Pro crown with 31 points over Cayco (30).

The series is sanctioned by the Automobile Association Philippines (AAP) and sponsored by Petronas, Yokohama, GT Radials and M&H Tires.