The 2018 Petron FlatOut Race Series (FORS) has reached the halfway point. Held last July 14 at the Batangas Racing Circuit (BRC), the series’ 5th round was marked with intense racing action under the rain – a perfect equalizer to test the limits of both man and machine.
As always, the 2018 Petron FORS is sanctioned by the Automobile Association Philippines (AAP), and is comprised of 2 racing events; the Time Attack and the Grid Races.
Time Attack
Right off the bat, the rain made its presence known with an intermittent downpour throughout. But it didn’t stop the Time Attack runs. Dondon Portugal led the time sheets in Bracket R with his best lap time of 1:43.239 which was quite impressive, to think that he gambled the run using slick racing tires designed for dry surfaces. Next was Rafael la O' who bolstered a solid best lap time of 1:44.342, earning him 2nd fastest.
la O’ also pressed on to lead Bracket A with 1:47.023 on the clock. Portugal, meanwhile, came in 2nd fastest with just 0.570 secs separating him from the former. On 3rd was Eduardo Suiza. Bracket B, on the other hand, was filled in by Nicolo Fernandez, Paolo Santos, and Bubi Camus in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places respectively.
Down in Bracket C, the fastest racers were Paul Santos, Julian Diego, and Armand Marcaida. This was followed by the Bracket D runs which saw its top 3 fastest drivers on the podium; Errol Panganiban, Robert Tan, and Steve Travers.
In bracket E, Royce Sarmiento led the chart with Mark Anton David and Jack Saquilayan clocking in 2nd and 3rd. On the other hand, Amiel Del Mundo, Kody Ng, and Francisco Blanco managed to fill in the top 3 spots in Bracket F, seeing that this bracket had the largest number of competitors. Lastly in Bracket G, lady driver Gabie Desales led the charge to win 1st place, followed by Victor Allen Escoto in 2nd.
The day also witnessed the staging of the 86 Club Class time attack event. Christopher Co bagged top honors on this one, with Raffy Rabe in 2nd and Paul Cusi in 3rd.
Grid Race
The day’s grid race events soon followed, despite the continuing onslaught of the rain. In fact, Grids A, B, and C were even combined into 1 huge 10-lap race.
Rafael la O' took home 1st in Petron Grid A, though his win wouldn’t have been that easy, if not for the technical problems that hounded his nearest rivals Eduardo Suiza and Dondon Portugal. In KBY Grid B, Paul Henderson Perez kept the pressure high, thus winning 1st place ahead of Bubi Camus in 2nd and Nicolo Fernandez in 3rd. In Recaro Grid C, Paul Santos, Julian Diego, Carlos Marzo, and John Benedict Carbonel battled it out for the win. But Carbonel came out on top, followed by Diego, and Marzo.
At last, the sun shined a little, drying the track just in time for the combined Staunch Performance Grid D and SmartFuels 2 Race Grid E races.
Grid D saw Errol Panganiban, Andre Tan, and Robert Tan locked in a tight battle from start to finish, with Andre Tan claiming the victory in the end. Panganiban crossed the line in 2nd, while Robert Tan settled for 3rd. Grid E, meanwhile, had Jeff Pobadora winning 1st place, followed by Kody Ng in 2nd and Mars Ocampo in 3rd.
On August 11, the Petron FlatOut Race Series will be heading back to Clark International Speedway in Pampanga to commence its 6th round. It will run in conjunction with Round 2 of the 2018 GiTi Formula V1 Race Challenge.
The Petron FlatOut Race Series is made possible by the following sponsors and media partners.
