Kaikkonen recalls old form

MANILA, Philippines - Finnish expat Veli-Matti Kaikkonen of Hafele-Tuason Racing unleashed an explosive return to the circuit racing scene as he turned back top favorites with a sweep of the two races recently in the final leg of the 2015 Yokohama Philippine Grand Touring Car Championships Series at the Clark International Speedway.

Kaikkonen was back in  his usual top form or perhaps even better as he hardly showed any trace of the injury incurred in a stint abroad and not even the months of absence from racing had any adverse effect on his masterful driving.

He ruled both the morning’s nine-lap Sprint race and the 15-lap GT Main race to capture the GT300 crown over top gun Willie Torres through the support of C! Magazine, Toptul, Aguila Autoglass, Standard Insurance, Oakley, Rota, Lifeline Ambulance, Hafele, Ruka! and Sivuluisu.com

The great job by the Tuason Racing crew in setting up the engine and preparing a very competitive car gave Kaikkonen enough confidence to do his usual stuff clocking consistent laptimes that helped him push for nothing but the win.

He topped the Time TrialsMO with a fast 2:09.767 to claim the pole position for the Sprint race where he controlled the front seat from start to finish and his fastest time of 2:10.511 pulled him farther from the rest lap after lap to clinch the GT300 title 46.778 seconds ahead of Torres.

The GT Main Race saw a more confident Kaikkonen blazing full throttle, hardly hitting the brakes even at the turns throughout the 15-lap race as he posted the day’s fastest time of 2:09 to prevail anew over Torres 20.954 seconds ahead.

Following his strong show, Kaikkonen sent of his more serious intentions for next season’s top plum.