After 8 exciting rounds, the inaugural 2015 season of the Flat Out Race Series (FORS) has now come to an end. And the fastest drivers in the country’s premier grassroots motorsports program are Nino Garcia taking the title in Bracket A and Rafael La’O in Grid A.
The 8th and final leg of the season was held last October 10 at the Clark International Speedway (CIS). Greeted with clear and sunny weather, this allowed for great on-track action in all of the day’s Bracket and Grid races.
Bracket Races
The fastest guys on the field can be found in Bracket A, setting laps less than 2:15.999 around CIS’ full course. The quickest of which was Nino Garcia who drove the JCT GTR35 with a blistering time of 2:06.902. Not only was it a full 7 secs quicker than both Rafael La’O and Carlo Baguisa in 2nd and 3rd, but it also proved to be best time of the day. This earned him his 4th victory in 2015 and the class title in Bracket A.
In Bracket B, for laps under 2:20.999, Sydney Blanche Sarmiento topped the time sheets in the JCT Blanche Honda Civic. Vic Edillon came 2nd and Danby Yaptinchay, who debuted his new Mitsubishi Cyborg race car, finished 3rd. Despite his absence, Eduardo Suiza collected enough points in the season to take the Bracket B championship.
Borek Fallorin, on other hand, was the fastest in Bracket C even if this was only his second outing in 2015. His Centrum Fuel Honda Civic set a lap of 2:21.117 to beat Miki Diato in 2nd and Christopher Co in 3rd.
As for Bracket D, newcomer Joey Howard continues to impress in his yellow Honda Civic EG hatchback with a time of 2:25.195. This was a mere 0.01 sec quicker than 2nd placer Lesly Tuason of A1 Advertising, while Polo Bautista’s 3rd place finish was enough to win him the Bracket D title.
Setting the fastest lap in Bracket E was Lloyd Nico Puno with a a time of 2:31.190. Meanwhile, Bryan Firme topped the time sheet in Bracket F and Marc De Leon in the newly-added Bracket G time attack category.
Grid Races
In the fastest wheel-to-wheel race of the day, which was Grid A, Rafael La’O demonstrated his skill in both managing his machine and weaving through the traffic on track. He secured his 7th consecutive race win this season and the overall title in Grid A. Following in 2nd and 3rd places respectively were Carlo Baguisa and Miko Maristela.
After winning in Bracket B, Grid B was also dominated by Sydney Blanche Sarmiento. The young driver drove a very clean race, with teammate Nino Garcia behind to protect his lead from Dominic Bon. Garcia, however, would later suffer mechanical issues that forced him to retire. This allowed Bon to put up a fight, but had to settle for 2nd place, finishing 2.014 sec behind Sarmiento. Claiming the last spot on the podium was Jun Cabrera in 3rd.
There was a lot of drama in Grid C after all the top 6 finishers acquired time penalties for breaking out of their bracket. This promoted Lesly Tuason to claim 1st place, followed by Marion Mendoza in 2nd, and Franklin Ong in 3rd.
Likewise, 9 of 17 drivers in Grid D broke out of their bracket times, allowing W-Autosport / Staging Lanes Driver Mickey Suiza to finish in 1st and Michael Angelo Turing in 2nd. Aaron Lao was lucky enough to collect 3rd place despite his time penalty.
When Circuit Showdown closed its doors last year, the people behind FORS were left with very little to work with except for their talent, determination, and passion for the sport to keep the show going. Now that they’ve completed their very first season, we couldn’t be happier to see how much they’ve grown and continue the the grassroots motorsports program for the Philippines.
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The 2015 Flat Out Race Series (FORS) is sponsored by GT Radial – Philippines, PTT Philippines Corporation, A1 Advertising, Competition Clutch, Staging Lanes, BMC Air Filters, SPY Eyewear, Walter Lights and Sounds, RECARO, Dynapack, Speedlab, Foilacar Manila, Philgerma Mfg. Inc., Angeli Jewelry, Brembo, Aguila Auto Glass, Central Diesel, and AeroMed Ambulance Transport.
