FORS 5th Round Goes to Clark International Speedway

The sun was out up north and the weather was very cooperative to the delight of the eager racers in the 5th round of the Flat Out Race Series (FORS) on the Clark International Speedway in Pampanga last July 1, 2017.

While it was raining cats and dogs in Metro Manila that day, the racers enjoyed the whole day running the 4.2km length of the race track. The Clark International Speedway was also an unfamiliar track to some drivers as the layout was very different from their usual stomping grounds which is the Batangas Racing Circuit. This time, racers had to overcome not just their fellow drivers but the track as well with its long stretches and 18 turns.

Time Attack

The day started with the Time Attack runs with Luis Gono clocking the best time of the day with 02:03.441 in his Lotus Exige V6 Cup under Bracket R. Placing second on the same bracket was Lance Binamira with 02:09.053 while Eggy Ong took third with a best time of 02:09.907. Under Bracket A, Eduardo Suiza took first place with a best time of 02:10.212, Eggy Ong was second at 02:10.995, and Rafael La’O on third with 02:11.216. Jero Consing got the fastest time for Bracket B with 02:16.765, just a split second away from Andrew de Asis and Nicolo Fernandez, with 02:16.801 and 02:16.847, respectively. Team Carmudi Racing's Bubi Camus finished in third for Bracket C with 02:22.551 while Kikong Dela Rama and Dax Santiano bagged the top two positions, correspondingly. Greg Suing was the fastest under Bracket D with a best time of 02:25.203, followed by Ralph Tan and Raymond de Pano. Ronn Catindig and Julian Diego, who recently made his debut in four-wheel racing, had a best time of 02:27 each, with the former just a split second away from the latter. Carmudi Magazine's technical editor and Team Carmudi Racing race engineer Francisco Blanco had a best time of 02:32.754 in Bracket E. The top three finishers for that division were Abet Reyes, Michael Angelo Turing and Bernard Michael Santos, respectively. Bracket F was ruled by Mark Castro, followed by Steve Travers and Robert Tan. Mark Pascual of Bracket G had 02:42.174 while Miguel Narciso had 02:53.273.

Grid Race

The Grid Race took place in the afternoon and proved to be exciting as spectators get to witness great wheel-to-wheel action courtesy of the racers. Ong continued to dominate GT Radial Grid by finishing four seconds ahead of Suiza who took second followed by La’O in third. Fernandez led the race in KYB Grid B and was trailed by de Asis and Dominique Bon, who finished in second and third places, respectively. Team Carmudi Racing led the Smart Fuels Grid C as Camus on board his Mazda Miata placed first while young racer Polo Bautista took the third spot,  just a few seconds behind Jack Saquilayan who took second place. On Recaro Grid D, Catindig bagged third place, while Paolo Santos and Bernard Michael Santos claimed the top two spots respectively. Tan dominated the Works Bell Grid E, followed by Pascual in second and Travers on third.

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Photos by Ruben Manahan IV and Patrick Everett Tadeo