2023 Motul Race Wars: A weekend of Drag Racing, Autocross in Clark
Race Wars: even better the third time around
Motul Philippine distributor Infiniteserv International staged the third Motul Race Wars at the Clark International Speedway from December 2 to 3, 2023 attracting hundreds of racers and fans together for a weekend of high-octane action.
For 2023, Infinteserv International decided to raise the stakes with PHP 2,500,000 in total prizes for the drag races as a reward to the best drivers on the quarter-mile. The event attracted over 300 participants to test their mettle on the 1320 right on the main straight of Clark Speedway.
Gathering the greatest number of entrants were the Hot Street, Sportsman, and Diesel Class which had over 200 participants in total. Vehicles were an assortment of American, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese badged cars.
Providing additional eye candy and high-performance action for race fans and spectators were the supercars that competed in the Novelty Class.
In the Novelty Class, Ryan Lee took home the gold driving the Speedworks Engineering LimitZero Trading Lamborghini Huracan Twin Turbo with an 8.948-second pass at 169 mph. Lee beat Mark Sy Peng in his Nissan GT-R R35 in the finals, as Sy Peng settled for second with a personal best of 10.7 seconds. Michael Dizon Delacruz, who drove the Bolt-On Performance Nissan GT-R R35, took the last podium spot.
The Diesel Class saw some interesting race action from diesel-powered vehicles such as pickups, SUVs, and vans. Drew Manio emerged as champion with Comspeed Mitsubishi Strada pickup, Jay Estonindo BP Remap ECU Philippines Toyota Fortuner to second, and Hans Duce of Project Phoenix in third.
For the Hot Street Class, which comprised of mildly-tuned street cars DJ Sayson of Powerhouse Race Specialists drove the 2SOG Honda Civic to first place. Sean Christopher Bognot took second place with his Toyota Corolla, and Lee Joe Pacheco took home third place.
Michael Gonzales drove the Ken Kepner Racecraft All-Motor Chevy Monza to the top of the podium in the Quick-8 Class beating all the quickest drivers of the event.
In the Sportsman Class Joey Del Rosario Sumangil emerged champion, Benok Licudine in second place, and Shota Watanabe in third.
In the Expert Class TJ Pangilinan of Cabspeed emerged as the victor, CJ Ramos in second, and Benok Licudine in third.
For the Pro Class, Jannery Millet bagged the gold with his Millets Maxout Honda Civic, Michael Dizon Delacruz took second aboard the Bolt-On Performance Honda Civic, and Roneil Pasahol in third.
For top class Super Pro category, Horeb Sibal took home the gold aboard the El Maniego Honda Civic, teammate Ronald “Untoy” Nierras drove the Emperor 211 Honda Civic to second place, and Jeremy Art Penullar with the Chrisarts PH Honda Civic in third.
To add to the action, the Philippine Autocross Championship Series also held its final round on one of the sections of the circuit. Autocraft Drift Team also held a drift demo and gave shotgun rides to lucky spectators of the event.
It is great to see how legal drag racing events and the local scene have evolved with the diversity of vehicles, drivers, and complexity of builds. Cheers to Infinteserv International for organizing events like these to fuel the enthusiasts' passion for cars and racing.
