MANILA, Philippines - Defending champion Jonathan Tiu of JCT Racing bounced back from the opening leg setback with a commanding victory in his favorite Quick 8 class recently in the second leg of the 2017 National Drag Racing Championships Southern Series at the Batangas Racing Circuit Drag Strip in Rosario, Batangas.
Tiu clocked 12.263 seconds on a solo final run to capture the Quick 8 crown over teammate Jonathan Young who got stalled by an engine problem at the starting line and took around three minutes to get his car moving. He finished second in 25.971 seconds.
Allan Ararao prevailed over Quick 8 kickoff champion Ryan Quimpo in their playoff to claim third place.
The triumph steered Tiu back on course for another championship belt this season aboard his Mitsubusi Evo instead of his record-breaking Nissan R35, the first car to break the eight-second barrier and still holds the Philippine drag racing all-time record of 8.806 seconds.
But with the oppressive heat of early summer slowly taking its toll, the Evo yielded a rather slow time in the first round and timed 16.711 seconds on his semifinal run, which gave Quimpo the early exit.
Even his time of 12.263 seconds on his final run was way behind the competitive nine-second clocking as the heat later took its toll on his car.
Tiu lost to young ace Arvin Jay Millet of TEMZ in their M&H Pro final duel. It took him 36.53 seconds to complete his quarter mile run.
Quimpo turned back Jonathan Young in their playoff to bag third place.