CARLOS Anton reminisced old times at the Subic Track and bade goodbye to the track that paved the way for the local racing circuit by winning the Subic Final Lap Chevy Cruze event recently.
Anton, the many time race car champion, together with Mike Potenciano gave the MP Turbo tandem a 1-2 finish in the last race in the historic Subic International Raceway.
"It was super to race side by side with my mentor Mike Potenciano and what was amazing was we had actually clocked identical times of 57.39 seconds, my second lap was just quicker than his to break the tie," Anton said after the win.
Enzo Pastor rounded out the top three with a time of 57.91 followed by Louis Ramirez (58.30) and Alvin Santos (58.38).
Other past champions in Subic who joined the race were, George Ramirez, Miko David, Menchie Francisco and Marc Thomann among others.
All the racers used two identical Chevy Cruze cars around the short track of the famous Subic International Raceway.
The Subic International Raceway (SIR), the first international raceway in the Philippines, has flagged off its black-and-white checkered pennant for the last time here, marking the end of its 17-year stint as a popular attraction for racing aficionados.
In a bittersweet recent celebration at the racetrack, representatives of more than 20 motor racing clubs in the country led by the famed racing Ramirez family, gathered at the SIR for a three-day racing event dubbed as "The Last Lap" to bid farewell to what was once a home to racers.
Seventeen years ago, after decades of trying to put up a dedicated racing facility, the late Pocholo Ramirez, Mike Potenciano and five other icons of Philippine motor racing opened the SIR and revived circuit racing in the country.
When it was completed in 1994, the 2.9-kilometer, 12-turn-circuit SIR became the first year-round racing facility in the country. It became the country's first international race track later.
Anton earlier in the day had raced and won the best time in the PLDT time attack event held at the Clark International raceway. The Mark Young-Yokohama driver posted a blistering 1:08 around CIS track on his first lap before encountering fuel surging problems that plagued him earlier in the season.
"I'm glad we won but it was disappointing that the old problem of the car came back before we could go for a faster lap," the three-time Hillclimb Champion said before proceeding to Subic for the "Final Lap" event later in the day.
Anton also leads the 2010 Hillclimb championship and has won the first three rounds this year. The fourth round of the Championship moves to the mountains of Nueva Ecija in September. (Roderick Osis)