Batino virtual Petron karting champion

MANILA, Philippines - Don Batino virtually captured the SQ Karting crown as young guns Estefano Rivera of Fern-C Racing and CJ Tsui of Industria Racing staged rousing rallies to claim separate victories recently in the sixth and penultimate leg of the 2011 Petron Blaze Karting Super Series at the Clark International Speedway.

Batino started slow in the qualifying heat but bounced back to dominate both the pre-final and final races to win the SQ Expert class of this event sanctioned by the Automobile Association Philippines (AAP) and sponsored by Petron Blaze 100, San Miguel Corporation, Denso Iridium Power, Motorstar Eastway and Yokohama Philippines.

He actually finished second overall behind novice karter Daniel Miranda in the combined race but the triumph was enough to seal the overall SQ Expert plum as  he now tallies 364 points against the 280 of Cebuano Peterson Lim of Industria Racing.

John Effinger is third overall with 251 while Raul Barretto and Nike Mora follow in fourth and fifth with 247 and 207 points, respectively.

Rivera, who started 12th in the pre-final, surprised everyone as he rallied to finish second overall and clinch the ROK Junior crown.

He wrapped the race in nine minutes, 22.711 seconds or just 2.167 seconds. behind four-time champion Stefano Marcelo of Maranello-San Miguel Corporation-Marcelo Racing.

Franco Reyes of Industria Racing took the runner-up honors that padded his lead to a total of 345 points to also virtually seal the overall ROK Junior Karter of the Year.

Tsui, displaying consistency and determination under heavy rain, rose up from ninth place to capture third place in the ROK Junior class and the champion trophy in the ROK Novice division.

With the victory, the quest for the ROK Novice crown turned more exciting as Tsui trimmed the gap against Matthew Chan of FERN-C Racing and Daniel Miranda of  Cebuana Lhuillier-Maranello-Marcelo Racing.

Chan still leads with 373 while Miranda and Tsui follow with 328 and 326 points, respectively.

Information: Carmona Racetrack c/o Rose Feria at 845-0745, 889-3389, 845-3287 and 845-4142 or visit the website www.asiankarting.com