Story & photo by Randy S. Peregrino
WITH the fourth season approaching to an end, competing teams and its individual racers are becoming more and more competitive. The recently concluded third leg of the Vios Cup showcased the kind of intense racing that kept spectators at the edge of their seats. Every round was full of actions and skirmishes adding to the excitement from start to finish.
High temp first round
WHAT greeted the Celebrity and Promotional class opening race was a blistering summer-like heat. New TV personalities, such as first-timer Troy Montero and sophomore Jake Cuenca, joined the roster. Celeb mainstays Aubrey Miles, Gretchen Ho, Ellen Cruz, Dominic Roque and Jasmine Curtis-Smith were also present along with veteran Fabio Ide.
At the early laps, Red Diwa took the lead. The pace went on steady until Diwa and Ide collided midway in the contest. Marc Soong, on the other hand, was trailing to make it to the top 5. Several fender benders and rear enders also transpired involving Dominic Roque with another car, as well as Diwa being bumped off from the track by Donvic Portugal.
During the Sporting class race, several contacts were also seen at the start with Paulo Agregado taking the initial lead. During the fifth lap, JV Ejercito’s car rear ended Paul Lomax’s in one of the hairpins and sidelined. While Ejercito managed to resume, he lost two positions as penalty. Afterward, Tonton Ramos’s car understeered and collided with several cars—forcing him out of the race.
The Super Sporting class propelled with an 11-car grid. Nonetheless, it started tight oppositions among participants with Ramon Ronquillo battling it out versus Dominic Ochoa. But while on the top, Ochoa and Keith Brian Haw were also flanking each other. With Ochoa leading, Haw and Ronquillo, likewise, engaged side by side. Ochoa kept his guard against Haw to protect the lead but Haw, unexpectedly, went bonkers in and out at the grassy portion of the track and eventually lost his momentum.
Wet and wild second round
THE Promotional and Celebrity class began a steady pace for several laps. But halfway through, the rain started pouring harshly and made Roy Bunag’s car drifted a bit entering a turn. As the hard rain continued to pose vulnerability to the racers, Brian Currie got into a nasty slide and hit the cement barrier right before the turn. Ella Cruz also made an early exit to avoid the unforgiving downpour. Red flag was raised forcing the race to halt with three laps to go during the eighth lap. Succeeding races were, likewise, put on standby due to inclement weather.
Due to the shower, total laps for the succeeding groups were reduced to seven. While the Sporting class started off with steady pace, bumper-to-bumper action between cars were witnessed during the initial laps. Agregado and Mark Sy started to battled it out, but it was Oscar Suarez and Sean Velasco became the main contenders for the front-runner during the sixth lap. Velasco eventually took the pole.
As for the final race, the Super Sporting group, once again, amplified the exhilaration with several skirmishes. To start off, one race car overshoot from the first turn going the stretch. Gerard Loy took the early lead, while Miko Maristela drifted in a curve but avoided collision. Haw and Ochoa were at it again and seen clashing side by side. This time it was Loy versus Haw as he took the spot from behind. Ochoa drifted but immediately regained spot during the fifth lap. Then coming from behind, Jette Calderon took the third and second spot successfully during the sixth lap. When Haw’s car spinned, Calderon finally secured the lead until the final lap.
Celebrated awarding night
FOR the Celebrity group, Ide and Roque took turns for the first and second places from both rounds while Jasmine Curtis-Smith and Montero were the third placers in the initial and final rounds, respectively. Promotional class initial round winners were Willem Waltheer (first), Arbie Jacinto (second) and Vincent Courcol (third). The final round victors, on the other hand, were Roy Bunag (first), Courcol (second) and Soong (third).
As for the Sporting group, Sy took the first place from the initial round followed by Agregado and Ira Medrano. The second round was dominated by Velasco who emerged as the winner followed by Lord Seno in second and Suarez in third. In the Super Sporting class, it was Ochoa back on top as the winner in the initial round succeeded by Calderon in second and Haw in third. As for the final round, Calderon took the first place then followed by Ochoa in the second and Haw in third.