The season finale of the 2023 Formula V1 Challenge proved to be a proper nail-biter despite the absence of one of its title contenders. Past FV1 champions, who were wildcard entries, also gave both PRO and AM Class points leaders a run for their money that weekend, making Iñigo Anton and Rainy Medina work hard for their titles.
Joaquin ‘Wakkeen’ Garrido unfortunately had to miss the final round of the year due to prior commitments. But that didn’t mean his closest-rival Iñigo Anton of Obengers Racing enjoyed a walk in the park. A last minute entry from ’22 PRO Class Champion Milo Rivera kept Iñigo on his toes last November 24/25 at the Clark International Speedway (CIS).
Despite showing up on race day itself with zero practice, Milo was less than a hundredth of a second behind Iñigo during Qualifying. This paved the way for a grueling head-to-head battle in Race 1 with Iñigo winning by only 1.088 secs. Milo would get the upper hand in Race 2, but was later relegated to 2nd after incurring a track limits time penalty, thus giving the win to Iñigo. Completing the hat trick and securing the 2023 PRO title in style, Iñigo drove to another victory in Race 3.
Meanwhile in the AM Class, Autoholic Garage’s Rainy Medina won the first 2 races of the weekend, mathematically earning him the championship with 1 race to spare. This is an incredible feat considering that this was Rainy’s first full season in competitive racing. His closest-rival Oliver Aquino of Tech 7 Garage later claimed the win in Race 3 to close the year as AM Class vice champion.
The 2023 Formula V1 Challenge is supported by GT Radial, Motul Philippines, OMP, FASA, TOPTUL, and West Racing Cars; with official media partners: The Philippine Daily Inquirer, AutoDeal, C! Magazine, AutoCar Philippines, Skramble Media, Time Attack Manila, and Wheels Philippines.
