Carlos Anton’s back in contention

Defending champion and Castrol-Yokohama driver Carlos Anton returned to the championship trail after clinching big finishes recently in the 2014 Philippine Touring Car Championships at the Clark International Speedway.

Anton uncorked solid performances in the fifth and sixth rounds as he stormed to victory in the sprint race and salvaged second during the GT race using the Works Bell-Ethanworxs R33 FD.

Drawing support from Castrol, Yokohama, Works Bell brakes, ViewPark Hotel, R33, Buddy Club, Cars Unlimited, Autoshack, Special Stage, JSD Autosport and Fix Stop, Anton set the pace early on and cruised to a comfortable victory in Round 5.

But he was not as lucky during the GT afternoon race. After leading for 14 laps over a hounding 2010 Champion Joey Pery, he struggled with engine trouble on the  last lap and had to scramble to secure second place over the chasing William Tan and championship leader Paolo Mantolino.

“Joey pushed me hard all throughout but when the engine failed me on the very last lap, there was not much I could do,” Anton said. “I’m glad we had built a huge lead and that was enough for me to still come in second.”

Anton now has three wins in six races this year but because of the two incidents, he remained in third.