INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines--Bjorn Ongtiabok chalked up an impressive feat for The Ford-Tuason Racing in the championship round of the 2009 Philippine Grand Touring Championship at the Clark International Speedway recently.

The rookie Ongtiabok booked a runner-up finish in the GT 300 behind Emayrson Manaog and wound up third in the GT 200 behind champion William Tan and John Asuncion.

He actually posted the fastest 20-lap total time of 25 minutes and 41.723 but a technical violation nullified his effort.

?It was a great experience despite being a first timer in the event,? said Ongtiabok, praised the performance of both Ford Focus 1.6 cars he used. ?And getting two trophies was a big morale booster. I had a blast.?

TRS president JP Tuason was equally proud of Ongtiabok?s showing after his own big debut together with Stuart MacDonald and Dominic Samson.

?We had a successful stint the last time and we?re proud that Ongtiabok also made it big in the championship leg, proving the credibility of both our pool of drivers and racing cars,? said Tuason.