Mauricio cops Scooter, Underbone titles

MANILA, Philippines — Rookie Gian Mauricio humbled a slew of veteran rivals to sweep the titles in the fourth leg of the FDR Philippine Scooter and FDR Underbone King Championship Series at the Clark International Speedway in Pampanga recently.

The twin wins came on the heels of the JVT Racing bet’s victories in the 150cc Open Underbone and the 180cc Open PSR in the kickoff leg of both events sponsored by FDR, sanctioned by the Unified Sports and Racing Association (USRA).

Reigning Underbone King Masato Fernando of Spec-V actually topped the FDR Underbone King but was disqualified for disregarding technical tire procedure, enabling Mauricio to snare the crown after completing the eight-lap race, 2.669 seconds ahead of former champion John Emerson Inquito.

Niño Fabian placed third while Vrei-AR Suba and Aljon Valencia wound up fourth and fifth, respectively,

Mauricio also seized the solo lead in the FDR Underbone King while Fernando lost points on disqualification, putting his title retention bid at risk.

Mauricio later copped the 180cc Open PSR title of the FDR Philippine Scooter, nipping James Mendez by just 0.296 of a second.

McKinley Paz finished third followed by Vrei-AR Suba and Romer Corbe, respectively

In the Scooter race, McDon Sande won the 160cc Open PSR crown over Neil Centeno and Justine Tolentino; while Evander Soliveres clinched the 130 PSR title over Paolo Capili and Memel Natividad.

Troy Alberto also shone in the Honda One Make Race Open Race 1 where he repulsed Dustin Esguerra and Josh Reuben Tan while Mauricio pulled through in a tight three-way battle to rule the Honda One Make Race Open Race 2 by just 0.569 of a second ahead of Clifford Bacus. Mayco Carbonel placed third 0.9777 behind.