Thrill fills 2nd round of 2022 Seaoil Radical Challenge

Veterans and newcomers in the local racing scene filled the Batangas Racing Circuit with excitement as they took on the second leg of the 2022 Seaoil Radical Challenge.

Last September 23-25, a new set of drivers joined the competition as Tyson Sy ran in Brian Poe’s place with Porsche Design Manila-PartsPro Racing after the latter was indisposed and is recovering. Danial Daychopan — a first-timer when it comes to driving a Radical SR1 — had the rookie seat by driving the Seaoil SR1 previously driven by Mark Bumgarner during the last round.

Richard Dy represented Track Hos-RDY Racing by using his personal SR1.

Only two drivers from the previous round ran in the second leg: Motul-PartsPro Racing’s Iñigo Anton is eyeing to extend his commanding lead in the drivers' standing with the help of his team, and ENSport Motors-Scuderia Ramirez’s Stefan Ramirez who is aiming to move up places in the standings.

Drivers took advantage of the practice sessions on the first day to get to know the 3.5-kilometer-long circuit and their respective vehicles. Daychopan grabbed the opportunity of the free practice with the guidance of Radical Racing Academy coach Ivan Carapiet.

Sy on other hand, faced some challenges with his SR1’s alignment but managed to overcome the issue with help from the PartsPro crew.

Ramirez was not able to practice after he and his crew noticed an issue with the car’s brakes that was treated in time for the qualifiers.

In the qualifying round, Sy secured pole position and had the fastest lap of the round after beating his teammate Anton by two tenths of a second with a time of 1:39.149. Ramirez and Dy placed third and fourth as they finished the qualifying round in the 1:41 mark. Daychopan landed fifth on the grid with a respectable time of 1:53.746 despite a few spins.

The first race of the said round proved to be an exciting one as teammates Anton and Sy took turns for the lead. The veteran driver led most of the laps and the young Anton was constantly putting pressure on the leader. In the last two laps, Anton found new openings and grabbed the winning chance on the last corner of the final lap.

Ramirez secured third place and Dy, at fourth spot. Daychopan was unable to finish Race 1 after finding the gravel early in the race.

The second race for round 2 brought more challenges to the driver as rain filled the tarmac. The reverse grid set-up worked again as an advantage for the PartsPro Racing teammates with the younger driver taking the win. The rest of the grid followed through in the same order but this time around, Daychopan was able to finish the race.

Afternoon came and heavy rain, winds, and thunder began to flood the track. On that point, Race Director Marlon Stockinger is thinking of canceling the third race.

Some of the drivers expressed their concerns regarding the track conditions with Dy opting not to run. In the end, the decision to continue fell into the hands of safety car driver Mike Consenheim, in coordination with Stockinger.

To the surprise of spectators, the cars lined up and took their positions on the starting line behind the safety car. The marshals gave the go signal and the all- Radical grid began to carefully wade the wet track. The first few laps were led by the safety car, clearing the water away from the asphalt and carefully checking if the conditions were favorable enough for wet racing.

The safety car’s lights went off on the fifth lap, signaling that the track was safe, and Race 3 continued as planned. Sy got a good start and took the lead with Anton trailing and struggling to keep up in the slippery conditions. Although Sy crossed the checkered flag first, Anton continued to show his best to keep up with his teammate.

Ramirez finished third again, and Daychopan followed in fourth.

The final leg of the series will be held this coming October 28-30 in Clark.

The championship is powered by Seaoil Extreme 97 Octane as its official fuel. Motul Philippines, a co-presenter of the race series, provides the whole grid with its 300V Performance Oil.

Furthermore, Carmudi Philippines’ sister company Zigwheels Philippines is a proud media partner for the event.

To note, Mick Hyde and Phil Abbott formed Radical Motorsport — a company that manufactures racing vehicles — in 1997. The company created open-cockpit sports cars that could be registered for road usage and raced on a track without any modifications.

Photos from Radical Cars Philippines

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