MANILA, Philippines?Multi-titled race ace Carlos Anton made a perfect start to the autocross season by topping the kickoff leg of the 2009 Philippine Autocross Championship at the Clark Expo grounds in Pampanga province.

Anton, the 20-year veteran from Baguio City, posted the day?s best time of 46.41 seconds in the Open B class in his Mark Young-Yokohama CRX.

?It?s been quite a while since my last Autocross race in Guam in 2007,? said Anton. ?It feels good to be back and still be competitive.?

Anton used the so-called ?green monster CRX? raced by all the Mark Young-Yokohama team drivers. It was also the same car Anton used to dominate the Hillclimb Championship the past two years.

?It?s still very fast in spite of it being a 20-year-old car, so we we?ll continue to use it this season for the autocross and the hillclimb,? Mark Young said of the CRX.

He dedicated his victory to fellow bike racer Jerome Coronado who died in a recent motorcycle accident. Mark Giongco, contributor