The second season of waku-doki has begun. Once again breaking the country's motorsports record for the largest grid, the 2015 Vios Cup season-opener had 41 cars on the starting grid of Clark International Speedway last Saturday (March 21). It's even bigger than last season's record of 37 cars!
If you think 40 cars is a lot, Toyota Motor Philippines aims for a much bigger grid in the coming legs. The Japanese carmaker hopes to assemble 50 Vios Cup cars on the track within the season.
Because only 35 cars are allowed to compete at a time, the racers had to be divided into two categories: the sporting class and the promotional class. The former was made up of the top half of the regular racers, while the latter included the celebrities and the other regulars who didn't make the cut for the sporting class. Each category had two race heats, each having 12 laps.
The event kicked off with the first heat of the promotional class. Last year's celebrity champ Sam YG was in pole position, but he quickly lost his advantage when he and fellow celebrity racer Jinno Rufino crashed at the first turn. This gave Phoemela Baranda the opportunity to be the leader of the pack and to eventually snag first place. Miguel Diaz was close behind her in second place.
The second heat of the promotional class saw Sam YG redeeming himself and overtaking Baranda, thus earning for himself the titles of Best Male Celebrity Driver and Overall Celebrity Driver. The consistently fast Diaz was first to cross the finish line, earning the title of Class B champion, which meant the regular racer who led the field in the promotional class. Baranda, on the other hand, fell to fifth place in the second heat, but took home the title of Best Female Celebrity Driver.
Toyota San Fernando's Pauland Dumlao, who also raced in the 2014 Vios Cup, was pole-sitter for the first heat of the sporting division. He and first-time Vios Cup racer Estefano Rivera of Toyota Alabang raced head-to-head. Dumlao crossed the finish line first, but was relegated to second place due to a penalty. Rivera was then declared the first-placer. Dumlao wound up in second place, followed by Andres Calma in third. These top drivers proceeded to each carry an extra weight of 30kg, 20kg and 10kg, respectively, for the second heat.
The extra weight seemed to drag Rivera down, as he was not able to score another podium finish. Meanwhile, Dumlao had a comfortable lead for several laps, letting everyone else eat his dust until 17-year-old Daniel Miranda started reducing the gap between himself and Dumlao.
The teenage driver ultimately recorded the fastest lap time, and by the ninth lap, the track spectacle put the crowd on the edge of their seats.
With only three laps remaining, Dumlao and Miranda were scuffling for first place. When the checkered flag was waved, Dumlao, who drove a car 20kg heavier than his pursuing rival, made it to the finish line first. Despite crossing the finish line second, Miranda was demoted to third place after having initiated contact with Dumlao's car. Allan Uy, the third driver to cross the finish line, was thus promoted to second place.
Check out the official race results at the bottom.
Photos by Mikko David
| 2015 Vios Cup Leg 1 (Promotional Class) | ||||
| Heat 1 (Started at 12:30:17) | ||||
| Pos | Car no. | Name | Laps | Total time |
| 1 | 12 | Phoemela Baranda | 12 | 42:36.212 |
| 2 | 96 | Miguel Diaz | 12 | 42:36.944 |
| 3 | 24 | JV Ejercito | 12 | 42:48.646 |
| 4 | 44 | Alfie Concepcion | 12 | 42.49:456 |
| 5 | 33 | Tonton Ramos | 12 | 42:49.898 |
| 6 | 21 | Jeje Villena | 12 | 42:51.015 |
| 7 | 68 | Bombi Palilio | 12 | 43:06.333 |
| 8 | 19 | Juan Nolasco | 12 | 43:16.097 |
| 9 | 69 | Roy Bunag | 12 | 43:19.972 |
| 10 | 7 | Joyce Pring | 12 | 43:20.409 |
| 11 | 14 | Derek Ramsay | 12 | 43:27.409 |
| 12 | 22 | Tomohiro Iwamoto | 12 | 43:29.225 |
| 13 | 2 | Jasmine Curtis-Smith | 12 | 43:36.441 |
| 14 | 3 | Michinobu Sugata | 12 | 43:48.189 |
| 15 | 4 | Kylie Padilla | 12 | 44:12.865 |
| 16 | 6 | Sam YG | 10 | 44:31.594 |
| 17 | 35 | Sherwin Hing | 9 | 43:21.446 |
| 18 | 10 | Jinno Rufino | 7 | 44:29.164 |
| DNF | 8 | Rhian Ramos | 1 | |
| Not classified | ||||
| DQ | 67 | Arthur de Jong | 12 | 42:45.7 |
| Heat 2 (Started at 17:05:44) | ||||
| Pos | Car no. | Name | Laps | Total time |
| 1 | 96 | Miguel Diaz | 12 | 42:36.212 |
| 2 | 33 | Tonton Ramos | 12 | 42:36.944 |
| 3 | 6 | Sam YG | 12 | 42:48.646 |
| 4 | 67 | Arthur de Jong | 12 | 42.49:456 |
| 5 | 12 | Phoemela Baranda | 12 | 42:49.898 |
| 6 | 10 | Jinno Rufino | 12 | 42:51.015 |
| 7 | 68 | Bombi Palilio | 12 | 43:06.333 |
| 8 | 35 | Sherwin Hing | 12 | 43:16.097 |
| 9 | 8 | Rhian Ramos | 12 | 43:19.972 |
| 10 | 7 | Joyce Pring | 12 | 43:20.409 |
| 11 | 69 | Roy Bunag | 12 | 43:27.409 |
| 12 | 2 | Jasmine Curtis-Smith | 12 | 43:29.225 |
| 13 | 3 | Michinobu Sugata | 12 | 43:36.441 |
| 14 | 4 | Kylie Padilla | 12 | 43:48.189 |
| 15 | 22 | Tomohiro Iwamoto | 12 | 44:12.865 |
| 16 | 44 | Alfie Concepcion | 10 | 44:31.594 |
| Not classified | ||||
| DNF | 21 | Jeje Villena | 5 | 7:32.972 |
| DNF | 19 | Juan Nolasco | 4 | 10:18.089 |
| DNF | 24 | JV Ejercito | 1 | |
| DNS | 14 | Derek Ramsay | ||
| 2015 Vios Cup Leg 1 (Sporting Class) | ||||
| Heat 1 (Started at 13:49:54) | ||||
| Pos | Car no. | Name | Laps | Total time |
| 1 | 23 | Estefano Rivera | 12 | 29:51.444 |
| 2 | 28 | Pauland Dumlao | 12 | 29:51.850 |
| 3 | 97 | Andres Calma | 12 | 29:57.649 |
| 4 | 26 | Allan Uy | 12 | 30:09.725 |
| 5 | 25 | Dominic Ochoa | 12 | 30:16.118 |
| 6 | 77 | Basti Escalante | 12 | 30:17.360 |
| 7 | 20 | Daniel Miranda | 12 | 30:17.416 |
| 8 | 17 | Luis Gono | 12 | 30:18.188 |
| 9 | 87 | Raymond Ronquillo | 12 | 30:18.200 |
| 10 | 78 | Victor Buensuceso | 12 | 30:18.716 |
| 11 | 41 | Steve Bicknell | 12 | 30:19.725 |
| 12 | 88 | Robert Lilles | 12 | 30:21.393 |
| 13 | 55 | Bryan Co | 12 | 30:22.055 |
| 14 | 15 | Bobby Domingo | 12 | 30:22.619 |
| 15 | 99 | Charlie Cojuangco | 12 | 30:24.339 |
| 16 | 85 | Paolo Rodriguez | 12 | 30:28.220 |
| 17 | 11 | Carlos Loinaz | 12 | 30:28.627 |
| 18 | 31 | Miko Maristela | 12 | 30:29.147 |
| DNF | 94 | Alexis Salvador | 4 | 8:01.591 |
| DNF | 27 | Ramon Tanjuatco | 3 | 5:06.264 |
| Heat 2 (Started at 16:08:06) | ||||
| Pos | Car no. | Name | Laps | Total time |
| 1 | 28 | Pauland Dumlao | 12 | 29:10.283 |
| 2 | 26 | Allan Uy | 12 | 29:18.862 |
| 3 | 20 | Daniel Miranda | 12 | 29:18.999 |
| 4 | 77 | Basti Escalante | 12 | 29:19.222 |
| 5 | 97 | Andres Calma | 12 | 21:21.519 |
| 6 | 17 | Luis Gono | 12 | 29:21.923 |
| 7 | 25 | Dominic Ochoa | 12 | 29:27.401 |
| 8 | 87 | Raymond Ronquillo | 12 | 29:27.593 |
| 9 | 78 | Victor Buensuceso | 12 | 29:28.479 |
| 10 | 41 | Steve Bicknell | 12 | 29:34.030 |
| 11 | 55 | Bryan Co | 12 | 29:34.040 |
| 12 | 15 | Bobby Domingo | 12 | 29:51.510 |
| 13 | 99 | Charlie Cojuangco | 12 | 29:51.520 |
| 14 | 88 | Robert Lilles | 12 | 29:51.666 |
| 15 | 27 | Ramon Tanjuatco | 12 | 29:51.777 |
| 16 | 85 | Paolo Rodriguez | 12 | 29:52.197 |
| 17 | 31 | Miko Maristela | 12 | 29:52.793 |
| 18 | 23 | Estefano Rivera | 9 | 19:30.784 |
| DNF | 11 | Carlos Loinaz | ||
| Not classified | ||||
| DNS | 94 | Alexis Salvador | ||
