Inspired by the late professional race car driver Enzo Pastor, the FlatOut Race Series (FORS) continues to build future race car drivers in the Philippines. Their final round at the Clark International Speedway is a proof that the sports is slowly growing and attracting a lot of grassroots racers.

During the last leg of FORS, a total of 93 entries were tabulated as participants for this year’s championship. Still consistent on both records from start till the end were Eduardo Suiza of W-Autosport / Staging Lanes and Rafael la O’ of Team Auto Magic.

Few names were also rewarded such as Ralph Tan, Armand Marcaida, and Andre Makkina Tan, who seen drastic improvement both on Time Attack and Grid Races.

On Time Attack race, Suiza, which drives no. 200 Civic EG, set an impressive time in Bracket A with a 2:11.963 lap, overpowering Rafael la’O who managed his time at 2:12.807 to claim second spot.

Surprisingly, the fastest driver of the day was given to Dominique Bon under Bracket R, who clocked a 2:09.129 securing him first place. Behind him is National Slalom Series championship Milo Rivera who made a rare appearance to score second place, followed by Blanche Racing’s Andrew de Asis who won third place.

On Bracket C, Paul Santos clocked a 2:26.117 lap to take the win over lady driver Kathy Villar and PTG’s Kunihiro Iwatsuki in third place. Meanwhile, Ralph Tan’s 2:26.506 lap allowed him to score a hat trick in Bracket D, beating AAP Motorsport Development Program (MSDP) finalist Paolo Santos in 2nd and Philippine GT driver Dindo De Jesus in 3rd.

On the Bracket E,  MSDP graduate Armand Marcaida ended up on the podium taking 1st place. Robert Tan in the KYB Toyota Yaris was second, while Andre Makkina Tan was 3rd. Bracket F were awarded to Adrian Agcamaran (first place), followed by Sherwin Bargos (second place), and Noel Delos Reyes (third place).

On the Bracket G, Miguel Narciso managed to win first place, followed by Felix Chua (second) and another lady driver and MSDP finalist Hazel Ramirez (third place).

The Grid Race was again a mano-a-mano between Eduardo Suiza and Rafael la O’. Suiza lead for most of the 10-lap race, but a late charge from la O’ allowed the Team Auto Magic driver to snatch 1st which he held onto until the chequered flag.

Aaron Lao concluded his season with another win in the KYB Grid B race. He crossed the finish line with a 1.957 sec advantage over second placer Francis Roger Telan. Lao’s Blanche Racing teammate Andrew de Asis struggled to keep up and wound up third. Bracket C winner Paul Santos maintained his dominating performance in the Smart Fuels Grid C race, finishing a full lap ahead from Ethanworx Racing Team’s Jonmark Ong in second and consistent podium winner from Carmudi Racing Team Polo Bautista in third place.

The combined Recaro Grid D and Worksbell Grid E race with Ralph Tan controls the pace. The drifter turned racer put on a solid drive to win his second race of the year. Paolo Santos was 4.675 secs behind to snatch 2nd in Grid D, while Patrick Manapat barely held onto 3rd place. Andre Makkina Tan spent 8 laps defending his lead from Felix Chua, eventually winning Grid E with a 1.204 sec margin. Chua settled for 2nd and in a distant 3rd was Steve Travers.

The FlatOut Race Series will be back on December 2 and 3 for the country’s longest endurance race—the GT Radial Philippine Endurance Challenge (PEC).