Rodriguez takes it easy but still cruises to GT 200 overall title

Edwin Rodriguez happily made do with a pair of runner-up finishes to fierce rival Paulo Ivan Santos but still clinched the Yokohama Grand Touring 200 overall title in the 2018 Petron Philippine Motorsports Championship series at Clark International Speedway recently.

The reward for a season’s hard work was all in the bag for Rodriguez after the first of the two-race closer.

With a 28-point lead over the younger of the father-and-son Santos tandem heading into the sixth and last session of the series, the irrepressible Rodriguez sewed it up by coming 10.378 seconds off the winning pace in 23 minutes and 7.858 seconds over 10 laps around the 4.2-kilometer circuit in his Honda FD machine.

Already the 2016 GT Driver of the Year (DOY), Rodriguez made Race 2 a virtual victory lap despite Santos’ resolute session sweep and season-best sixth triumph in the 12-race series.

Santos’ father Paul, in another Honda FD, settled for third place in both races and in the final overall tally with 118 points. He lay 56 behind his son and 74 off the winning total of Rodriguez, the victor in just four races but a cinch for a second GT DOY title.

Kathy Villar upstaged her male rivals anew in the GT 150 class to place sixth and then fifth overall in the combined races and seize the season crown with 182 points, 47 clear of runner-up Lewy Manio and 82 ahead of Russ Agapito, the winner of five of the first eight races.

Villar also topped the season’s Rookie Class with 188 points, followed by Manio (145), Agapito (100) and Justin Neri (25).

Other class winners: Joma Montaner (Classic Aspirated Cup Pre Final, Final), Rodney Caballero (Philminiracers Classic Final), Russ Agapito (Sparco Cup-Bracket Race, Batch 1), Allen Escoto (SC-BR B2), Arthur Pasao Jr. (Grid Race 1), Philippe Gust (Grid Race 2), Dominique Bonn (Track Attack Challenge), Jullian Neri (First Step Racing Cup)