Garcia makes blazing return in third leg of nat’l drag racing

One of the local drag racing’s top drivers and tuners Vanni Garcia got back into the limelight when he submitted the day’s fastest time to emerge Quick 8 champion recently in the third leg of the 2015 Philippine Drag Racing Championship Northern Series at the Clark International Speedway.

Garcia, one of defending champion Jonathan Tiu’s toughest rivals in the early years of his checkered career, excellently adjusted his engine’s setup to a very competitive level and his Honda yielded a fast quarter-mile run of 9.362 seconds to give him the Quick 8 crown in this event sanctioned by the Automobile Association Philippines and sponsored by M&H, Sparco, Aguila Auto Glass and GT Radials.

Sharing the spotlight with Garcia was Martin Manalo who clinched the M&H Pro plum after John Ryzia and his classic Chevrolet named Thunder succumbed to a break-out in their final duel.

It was Manalo’s second triumph in the M&H Pro class and his third overall for National Championships, thus giving him the overall leadership in the hunt for the coveted drag racing crown.

Kenneth Bayani, whom Manalo beat in the semifinal round to arrange a title showdown with Ryzia, settled for third place.

It was a make-or-break round where top contenders sought crucial wins to beef up their respective title pursuits.

The race heated up as AHRA-Garage Power put on another dominating show of its US V8 muscle cars and Tiu engaged Batangas pride Manalo in a tough duel in a blazing comeback from previous lackluster performances.

But all these subplots were overshadowed as Garcia ousted Tiu in their semifinals encounter and prevailed in the final showdown that shattered William Hand’s bid to steer his “Blue Haze” to a back-to-back victory.

Tiu turned back John Ryzia and his classic Chevrolet named Thunder to claim third place.

“It’s been a long time, and it feels good to win again,” said Garcia after the comeback win that added him among the season’s top contenders, making the May 30 final round an even more unpredictable and exciting battle for the overall drag racing plum.

Tiu’s woes continued as problems on his Nissan R35 remain unresolved, and neither did his alternate car, a Toyota Integra, redeem him in the succeeding M&H Super Pro and M&H Pro races.

With Manalo on top of the title race with three wins and the quiet rise of 22-year-old Tarlac pride Arvin Jay Millet of TEMZ, Garcia’s return poses another big challenge Tiu had to deal with in his quest for a 10th national drag racing plum.