Toyota Balintawak Obengers driver Miranda sweeps Formula V1 last leg

Racers jostling for podium finishes during the last race at the Clark International Speedway

Driving for Team Toyota Balintawak Obengers, Daniel Miranda stole the limelight at the final leg of the Giti Formula V1 Challenge after cornering first place in all three races of the Pro Class held at the Clark International Speedway.

“It was a perfect weekend for me and my team. I want to thank Team Obengers, Toyota Balintawak, and everyone involved for making this happen. Qualifying first and winning all three races was a great achievement for me. Hard work always pays off,” said Miranda, who also competes in Formula Renault events abroad.

But the last leg was not a walk in the park for Miranda.

Coming in as a wild card after missing out the first leg, Miranda pulled a big one during the weekend after he won Races 4, 5 and 6, leaving ace drivers Luis Gono of CleanFuel Racing and Tyson Sy of PartsPro Racing behind during the 12-lap race.

Gono and Sy were both ahead of Miranda on the leaderboard but both got involved in several incidents that affected their standings.

In Race 5, Gono and Sy engaged in a heated battle until their cars touched, almost taking both drivers off the track.

While the two were busy slugging it out, Miranda managed to sneak into first position, and held on until the checkered flag was waved.

The nail-biting moments did not end there.

In Lap 3 of Race 6, Sean Smith of PartsPro Racing (amateur class) pushed his luck at the Acacia corner to overtake Sy but only to ended up locking his brakes that caused the two cars to collide and retire from the race.

This also prompted the safety car to go into the track for three laps.

As the race cars regrouped, Gono managed to take the lead on the succeeding lap, but Miranda eventually caught up by unleashing his aggressive driving style in the final stretch.

“It was a tough weekend for me and for the team. I want to thank God for keeping me safe,” said Sy.

Meanwhile, another battle royale between Jussi Hoikka of Growl Thule and Shane Henderson of PartsPro Racing Team unfolded in Race 4 and Race 5 as they wrestled for second place in the AM Class.

In Race 6 after the incident of Smith and Sy, Hoikka managed to take first place in race 6 of AM Class, followed by Henderson, and Dominic Roque, who successfully caught up in third even though he started from the ninth position of the grid.

Here are the race results.

Race 4 AM Class

Champion: Sean Smith (Partspro Racing), 2nd place: Shane Henderson (Partspro Racing), and 3rd place: Jussi Hoikka (Growl-Thule Racing)

Race 4 PRO Class

Champion: Daniel Miranda (Toyota Balintawak Obengers), 2nd place: Luis Gono (CleanFuel Racing Team), and 3rd place: Tyson Sy (Partspro Racing)

Race 5 AM Class

Champion: Sean Smith (Partspro Racing), 2nd place: Shane Henderson (Partspro Racing), and 3rd place: Jussi Hoikka (Growl-Thule Racing)

Race 5 Pro Class

Champion: Daniel Miranda (Toyota Balintawak Obengers), 2nd place: Tyson Sy (Partspro Racing), and 3rd place: Luis Gono (CleanFuel Racing Team)

Race 6 AM Class

Champion: Jussi Hoikka (Growl–Thule Racing), 2nd place: Shane Henderson (Partspro Racing), and 3rd place; Dominic Roque (Clean Fuel Racing)

Race 6 Pro Class

Champion: Daniel Miranda (Toyota Balintawak Obengers), 2nd place: Luis Gono (CleanFuel Racing Team), and 3rd place: Paolo Mantolino (Partspro Racing)