ONCE again the street circuit race action returned to the streets of Filinvest, Alabang, for the second leg of the Vios Cup season five. The last time the race was held in the southern Metro’s business district was almost two years ago, during the third season. Among the 52 racers, six are celebrities competing for their own class consisting of Sam Milby, Diego Loyzaga, Sofia Andres and Chie Filomeno. Other celebrities who made a comeback from last season were Fabio Ide and Troy Montero.
Every Vios Cup street circuit edition proved to be very difficult for the drivers as tracks are not only tighter, but filled with granulated dirt from the asphalt; not to mention the installed chicane which served an added level of difficulty and obstacle during the race.
Celebrity and Promotional Class
The mixed category started the first round with a steady pace with Milby enjoying the lead in the early laps. But an unexpected problem cost him the position and surpassed by the trailing Loyzaga, who eventually took the podium for the first round followed by Ide and Montero on third. In the Promotional class, Jinno Rufino took the round followed by Vincent Courcol and Brian Currie for third place.
The following round saw Andres being sidelined early at the starting lap after hitting the railing. After the race resumed, another celebrity driver, Loyzaga, also suffered the same fate. The second round was concluded with Montero bagging the first place followed by Ide and Filomeno on third. As for the Promotional class, Currie turned out to be the winner with Elysse Menorca in second place, while Rufino fell on third.
Sporting Class
From a constant-paced initial round, Victor Buensuceso enjoyed an early lead with Donnvic Portugal trailing closely from behind. But partially hitting the chicane’s second barrier almost sidelined Portugal. Buensuceso went on to be the first round’s winner followed by Red Diwa and Kiko Dysico in third.
The following round saw another heart-pounding action, with Oliver Matias’s car flipping from side swiping the barrier in the tight curve, resulting to an early race stoppage. After clearing the track, the race resumed with Lord Seno leading. That same spot posed difficulty for the racers as well, when several cars almost lost control upon exiting. In the end, Seno prevailed and took the podium with Dysico, this time in second place and Diwa in third.
Super Sporting Class
As expected, the Super Sporting category saw more riveting action and tight contest. Coming from a rolling start, Stefano Rivera and Dominic Ochoa battled it out closely for the lead the entire round. In the closing laps, Ochoa managed to surpass Rivera but Rivera, in turn, overtook in the inner lane upon entering. Rivera took the initial round with Ochoa in second place and Raymond Ronquillo in the third.
The final round saw another steady pace with Bryan Co leading and Aira Medrano trailing from behind. An interesting mishap caused one car to block the tight turn exit. While backing up, this paved way for the trailing cars from behind to take the lead. In the end, Co maintained his lead and bagged first place followed by Medrano in second and Ronquillo, again, in third.
Image credits: Randy S. Peregrino