The sun was out in full strength, but so was the action in the hotly contested brackets of the Motul Drag Master Cup 2023. The weekend-long event (September 16-17) attracted nearly 400 competitors (according to the organizers) to the Clark International Speedway for a no-holds-barred speed contest that tested both cars and drivers’ capabilities on the quarter-mile.

Motul Philippine distributor Infiniteserv International has been taking the initiative of organizing and promoting motorsport events to encourage enthusiasts to take their racing off the streets and to the race tracks in safe and legal venues for speed contests.

“Our Motul Drag Master Cup was brought into fruition in 2022 to give motorsports enthusiasts who share our passion for performance as the lubes that go into engines, gearboxes, and anything mechanical in the car. We wanted to give enthusiasts the venue to exercise and experience their thrill for speed while promoting sportsmanship and camaraderie among fellow enthusiasts as well,” said Mr. Charlie Ong, president of Infiniteserv International.

Day 1 saw several supercars and highly-tuned sports cars lead the charge in the Novelty Class with quarter-mile runs of as quick as 9-seconds; while the multitude of competitors in the Sportsman, Hot Street, and Diesel Class saw a variety of cars from stock sport compacts to crossovers, diesel SUVs, and even MPVs.

Taking the win in the Novelty Class was Miguel Juan, followed by Leo Carlo San Juan, and Romualdo Dural.

In the Diesel Class, Mark Martin Pituc took the overall win, while Jody Aguilla followed in 2^nd, and Mohammad Bandrang took 3^rd.

In the Sportsman Class, Ywell Manio was the champion; Raf Evangelista was 2^nd, while Michael Puno took 3^rd.

In the Hotstreet Class, Zedrick Miguel Libera was the champion; John Ronald Villaruel took 2^nd, while Maila Marañon took 3^rd.

It was double the action on the second day with more than twice as many cars showing up to compete in the Super Pro, Pro, and Expert brackets. Cars in these brackets are more performance-oriented than the Sportsman and Hotstreet competitors.

In the Quick 8, where 8 of the best competitors of the day in terms of quarter-mile times would be picked to join the special bracket, it was Joseph Michael Lim who took the top prize.

Patrick Gian Ramos took home the gold for the Super Pro Class; Jeremy Art Penullar settled for 2^nd, while Michael Gonzales was 3^rd.

For the Pro Class, Reginald Paran took the overall win; as Michael Puno Jr. ended with 2^nd, and Michael Dela Cruz took 3^rd.

In the Expert Class, Mark Martin Pituc took the win; John Carlo Muna took 2^nd, while Cedric Constantino ended in 3^rd.

“We are delighted with the enthusiastic support of the competitors and spectators who came all the way to Clark to join us in this celebration and exercise of speed. This also represents a significant increase from last year’s participation,” said Mr. Peter Yung, Marketing Manager, Infiniteserv International.

“We would like to thank our sponsors, participants, and competitors, the media members who came to cover our event, hardworking team members who made this event a tremendous success. We hope to see you all at the 2^nd Motul Race Wars which is scheduled for December 1, 2, and 3 here at the Clark International Speedway as well,” Yung added.

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