Coseteng reigns in Yokohama tilt, nears crown

MANILA, Philippines - Jody Coseteng fashioned out an impressive victory to close in on the coveted plum in the fifth leg of the Yokohama Philippine Grand Touring Car Championships at the wet Batangas Racing Circuit in Batangas recently.

The Eagle Cement-backed Coseteng, a four-time Golden Wheel Grand Touring Driver of the Year awardee, dominated the field in high speed as he ruled both the Sprint and GT Final races of the event sanctioned by the Automobile Association Philippines.

With the win, Coseteng hiked his total to 200 points for a 58-point lead over Peter Kim of S-Oil Racing and Taysan Batangas Mayor Dondon Portugal, who both have 142 points heading to the final leg of the event sponsored by official oil Petronas Lubricants, official tires Yokohama, and media partners Racing Beat@Wave 89.1 and Inside Motoring on DZRJ 810khz.

Coseteng scored a runaway win in the Sprint race as Willie Torres hit the wall at the backstretch and damaged his car while Kim had to slow down with a broken axle.

Bayani Vargas, who finished third in the last leg, also suffered technical problems.

Portugal finished second in the Sprint race with GT100 drivers Edwin Rodriguez and Walter Zamora checking in third and fourth, respectively.

With his car fixed, Kim seized a positional advantage in the reversed grid Final race. But he spun out and hit the wall on the same spot as Torres.