Round 3 of the 2023 SEAOIL Radical Challenge Philippines saw another clean sweep by reigning champion Iñigo Anton. The 19-year-old went on to win all 3 races at the Clark International Speedway (CIS) last October 27/29, asserting his dominance in the series.
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. Heading the pack was Iñigo who set the fastest time in Qualifying with a 1:56.573 lap. His closest-rival Joaqin ‘Wakkeen’ Garrido of PartsPro Racing was 0.675 secs off pole to line up alongside on the front row of the grid.
Their duel began as the lights turned green in Race 1 on Saturday with Iñigo 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. Wakkeen’s best efforts could only notch him 2nd, while karting champion Miguel Quiñones of DRQ Motorsports rounded up the podium in 3rd.
A reverse grid start in Race 2 that afternoon had Miguel start from pole, but his lead was to be short-lived after an ambitious move from Jason Choachuy in the #78 Trackhos entry allowed him to pass the entire field on the grass. He then came under attack from Iñigo, followed by Wakkeen who took 1st and 2nd places, respectively. It then became a replay of the earlier race with Iñigo securing another win with Wakkeen now much closer in 2nd and Miguel 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, Iñigo was untouchable and further solidified his place at the top of the standings. Behind it, a battle brewed between Wakkeen and Jason with the PartoPro Racing driver taking 2nd across the line and Jason joining the festivities 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 Iñigo, who did not hold back on his confidence to win it all again this season.
With another impressive hat-trick to his name, Iñigo 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 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.