WINNING IN THE RAIN
Rivera tops 2nd leg of Giti-Formula V1 Challenge
Intermittent rain played a big part in last weekend’s 2nd leg of the Giti-Formula V1 Challenge held at the Clark International Speedway in Pampanga. To complicate things, this particular leg served as a pivot point for current leaders to boost their bids for the chance to compete in Suzuka, Japan in December, against the Formula V1 or Vita champions of Japan.
Race 5 claimed several casualties as Stefan Ramirez of Ensport/Fourth Floor Racing went wide on the first lap and was unable to finish. Alex Brown of AEG-Toyota Balintawak Obengers, meanwhile, locked up and ended his race off-track. At the end of the races, it was Estefano Rivera of Toyota Otis Obengers who prevailed, edging out Ryo Yamada of Cleanfuel Racing Team by less than a second despite the Japanese driver achieving the fastest lap of the session.
Raymond Ronquillo of Frontrow Racing Team completed the top three winners in the Pro Class.
In the AMClass, Red Diwa of Team of OTR Racing moved up to 1st, followed by Shane Henderson of A.Line Autosport. Another podium debut went to Phoenix’s Pulse Young Driver Program product, Raffy Rabe, who finished 3rd, continuing his rapid progression.
“It was a clean race with battles all over the field. No penalties and no problems—which is what we’d like to see!” says race steward Rupert Crook, who was especially pleased with the proceedings.
Final race
Just when the grid looked like they had comfortably settled into their positions for the final race, a safety car came out to aid Diwa who spun out and got stranded in a blind area of the track.
With everyone back to square one, Yamada pushed Rivera hard, to take first place. However, with three laps to go, the drizzle intensified. Amidst the heavy shower, Rivera decided to gamble, overtaking the Japanese driver in the hairpin and darted to victory. Stefan Ramirez, who started at the back after his DNF, climbed back up to finish in 3rd.
With a golden opportunity to close their points gap in the final race, Rivera said: “I was thinking that if I don’t overtake him when it rained (that was it). I had to take the opportunity. The person in front wouldn’t know the track—if it was wet on the racing line, or when to brake—I just went for it. In the championship standings we’re pretty close, so I went all in.”
Meanwhile, Brown also recovered, gaining 12 places in the first turn, and finished 1st, despite breaking his second gear later in the lap. “That was a pretty good corner!” When asked how far along he’d rate his progress on using a manual transmission, he replied, “Well, I’m still 16 and have never driven a manual before this! So I’d say maybe 20 percent, I have a long way to go.”
Dominic Roque returned to the podium finishing 2nd while Shane Henderson slipped to 3rd.
Roque credited his finish to the weather because according to him, “Everyone would have a hard time with a wet race, and that makes me feel comfortable kasi equal kaming lahat.” Series veteran Henderson was also unbothered by conditions but conceded that his AM Class competitor simply had the better of him, “we raced in real torrential conditions last year, this was just a bit of rain (in comparison)! But then Dom got past and I couldn’t catch him. I nearly hit him a few times, and I thought it’s not worth taking us both out. Better to just take it home and finish 3rd, than not at all!”
Calm before the storm
Even the Qualifying Time Trial ( QTT) session last Saturday was equally exciting. While the weather held for the first QTT session that allowed young phenom Alex Brown to grab pole position with a 2:11.391 time (despite this being his first competition at Clark International Speedway), a strong downpour occurred during practice that cut the sessions short.
Despite fears that the race wouldn’t push through, the rain abruptly stopped early enough for the opening Race 4 to proceed on a semi-damp track.
The slick conditions didn’t slow down the reigning series leaders as Yamada and Brown held onto first place in the Pro, and AM Classes respectively. Rivera on the other hand, finished 2nd, while Ramirez claimed 3rd in Pro—a result that mirrored their rankings in QTT.
In AM Class, Diwa claimed 2nd place and was joined by CRT’s Roque for his first taste of the podium as the racing celebrity finished 3rd—on his birthday, no less, and considering he started back in 13th place.
Giti-Formula V1 Challenge is also supported by West Race Cars Japan, OMP, AEG Powertools, Phoenix Accelerate, Rota, Oakley, Eurasia and Don Papa Rhum, as well as Eurasia Motorsports that provided a special testing at Sepang, Malaysia, on board a Formula Masters car for one of 2019’s winners.
This significant opportunity achieves the goal of Formula V1 to provide a complete stepping stone for Filipino Racers to compete in global motorsports.
Expect an equally exciting Round 3 as the Giti-Formula V1 Challenge returns to CIS in October as this stage features double points and a reverse-grid.
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