PHOTO: 2023 season of the 2023 SEAOIL Radical Challenge Philippines heats up at Clark International Speedway.
Reigning champion still on top with another clean sweep at CIS.
Reigning champion Iñigo Anton asserted his dominance in the 2023 SEAOIL Radical Challenge Philippines after completing another hat-trick in the series’ 3rd leg at the Clark International Speedway (CIS). Held last 27th to 29th of October, the 19-year old’s performance was a repeat of the previous round—winning all 3 races while securing pole position during Qualifying.
With a grid full of Radical SR1s running on race-engineered SEAOIL Extreme-97 fuel with STP additives, each driver was pushed to the limits as they fought for position around the 4.189 km circuit. Other standout drivers included the likes of Joaquin ‘Wakkeen’ Garrido, Jason Choachuy, and Miguel Quiñones who each found a place on the podium. Meanwhile, newcomer Juancho Brobio continued to close the gap to the competition on his second outing in 2023.
Anton’s dominance started late Friday afternoon as the young driver of the #33 black-and-red liveried SR1 set the fastest time during Qualifying with a 1:56.573 lap. His closest-rival Garrido of PartsPro Racing came 2nd best and was 0.675 secs of pole to line up on the front row of the grid.
Their duel began as the lights turned green in Race 1 on Saturday with Anton defending his position as the field funneled through the first corner. From that point on, he never looked back as he lead from start-to-finish and won by a 5.154 secs margin. Garrido’s best efforts in the #28 Radical SR1 could only notch him 2nd, while karting champion Quiñones of DRQ Motorsports rounded up the podium in 3rd.
A reverse grid start in Race 2 that afernoon had Quiñones start from pole, but his lead was to be short-lived after an ambitious move from Choachuy in the #78 Trackhos entry allowed him to pass the entre field on the grass. He then came under attack from Anton, followed by Garrido who took 1st and 2nd places, respectively. It then became a replay of the earlier race with Anton securing another win with Garrido now much closer in 2nd and Quiñones again in 3rd.
The final day of the action-packed weekend would see the 12-lap Race 3 begin noon on Sunday. Again starting from pole, Anton was untouchable and further solidified his place at the top of the standings. Behind it, a battle brewed between Garrido and Choachuy with the PartoPro Racing driver taking 2nd across the line and Choachuy joining the festivites on the podium with 3rd.
“We just have to keep on pushing towards finding that extra tenth of a second. I have full faith in our team that we can bring home the championship trophy again this year,” said Anton, who did not hold back on his confidence to win it all again this season.
With another impressive hat-trick to his name, Anton hopes to carry his winning momentum into the final round next month. He has a clear shot at winning back-to-back championships in the country’s fastest racing series as action returns to the Clark International Speedway on the 24th and 25th of November.
The Radical Challenge Philippines opened its second season in the midst of their new three-year deal with SEAOIL Philippines Inc. that will run through 2025. As the championships’ title partner and official fuel supplier, the country’s leading independent fuel provider supplies maximum performance once again with their SEAOIL Extreme-97 octane as the series’ approved fuel.
The 2023 SEAOIL Radical Challenge Philippines is powered by race-engineered SEAOIL Extreme-97 fuel with STP additives, sponsored by Kumu, Kooler, and Porsche Design Manila.
