Ramirez passes test with flying colors in Petron GP

SUBIC – Louie Ramirez of Petron-SRA passed his biggest test yet with flying colors, winning one of two races in the fifth and sixth rounds of the 2004 SVI-Petron Grand Prix at the Subic International Raceway.

Looking supremely confident despite the return of four-time champion Jody Coseteng to the starting grid, Ramirez dominated the action-packed sixth round to pull away in the overall standings in the 14-part series organized by Sports Values, Inc. (SVI) in cooperation with Petron.

The win, coupled with a runner-up finish to Coseteng in the fifth round, enabled Ramirez to take a commanding lead in the overall standings with a six-round aggregate of 46 points based on the 10-6-4-3-2-1 scoring system.

"It’s a good, morale-boosting win. I’m happy to win one of the two races held during the weekend," said Ramirez, who is hoping to become the fourth circuit racing champion from the tightly-knit Ramirez family.

Two-time champion George Ramirez of Petron-SRA grabbed solo second place with 27 points, dislodging older brother Kookie Ramirez.

Coseteng, who figured in a crash in the first round last March 28, remained in fifth place with only 13 points despite winning the fifth round over the highly-rated Ramirez brothers.

The San Miguel Beer-Caltex standout, however, failed to gain any ground when he landed only fourth behind the Ramirez brothers and Gaby de la Merced of Big Shot Billiards-Nike-Oakley in the sixth round.

Coseteng, who topped 12 of 14 races held last year, vowed to put the pressure on his rivals in the coming rounds.

"This is a long series. It’ still anybody’s race," said Coseteng, who won the titles in 1995, 1996, 2002 and 2003.

De la Merced, the only female participant in the 12-man field, raised her total to six points.

Ramirez, Bon and Dennis Uy also kept the lead in the other race categories.

The races were held along with the Asian Formula 3 Challenge.

SVI president Pocholo Ramirez awarded the trophies to the winners during the awarding ceremony.