Floored On Fourth: 2014 Yokohama Phil. GT Championship Rd.4 Preview

Presented by Petronas, this racing event has proven to be one of the country’s most exhilarating motor sports scenes. Starting with just 17 drivers back in June, the series now has 23 drivers vying for the championship title in its GT300, GT200, GT150, and GT100 classes.

After missing rounds 1 and 2, defending champion Jody Coseteng returned with a vengeance, as he swept the Sprint and GT races in the GT300 Class of the series’ 3rd round, placing first overall. However, his round 3 domination did not suffice enough to oust Taysan mayor Dondon Portugal from his lead in the standings. At 150pts, Portugal still maintains top spot, while Coseteng trails behind in second at 60pts. Veli-Matti Kaikkonen is the third man in the standings with his 45pts, ahead by just 3 points over the actor Jomari Yllana’s fourth-placing 42pts.

Round 3 also saw a fiery GT200 three-way battle between Paolo Mantolino, Joey Pery, and Carlos Anton. Despite all his efforts, Mantolino did not managed to defend his lead, thus allowing Pery and Anton to zoom past, keeping their championship hopes alive. It wasn’t the case, though for William Tan, as he now lags 99pts behind the leader board.

Doing the maths, all 11 drivers competing for the said class still have big chances of becoming this year’s champion.

The GT150 Class still remains an open game, as a total of 120pts are still on a hot contest in the next two rounds. Doing the maths, all 11 drivers competing for the said class still have big chances of becoming this year’s champion. Standings for the GT150 Class are led by Richmon de la Rosa who has a 41pts advantage over Joel Portugal in second place, while tied on third are Dindo de Jesus and Raymond Ronquillo.

Lastly, setting the pace for the GT100 Class comes courtesy of a 165pts lead by Edwin Rodriguez. Not far behind in second and third places are Rhaffy Latorre and Arvin Drueco respectively. Rodriguez will be in for a challenging one, as his Mazda PH sponsored Mazda2 isn’t quite punchy enough to tackle the CIS’s long straights, so he needs to really gun it hard.

The 4th round of the 2014 Yokohama Philippine GT Championship will be green flagged with a 9-lap sprint race in the morning, followed by its main GT race of 17 laps in the afternoon. Providing additional rush of excitement for the race weekend are several support races like the Philminiracers Championships Series, VW KaFER Cup, Winds Formula Philippines, and the newly-formed Sparco Bracket Circuit Racing. See it all live this coming September 27 and 28 at the Clark International Speedway in Clark Pampanga.