Proving its speed and reliability, Tuason Racing pulled off another dominant win at the Petron x 8 Oras ng Pilipinas last December 1-2 at the Clark International Speedway. The purpose-built race machine finished ahead of the 32-car grid to score back-to-back victories in one of the country’s most prestigious endurance race.

The #1 Tuason Racing-Formula V1 racecar were piloted by Super Saloon Champion Ferdie Ong, Asian Touring Car driver Louis Ramirez, multi-awarded karter and touring car driver Mike Tuason, 5-time National Slalom Champion Milo Rivera, and Formula V1 Am Class winner Shane Henderson.

Despite only having 110 horsepower from its 1.5-liter 4-cylinder engine, the 530-kilogram Formula V1 was just as fast as the cars with double its power.

Though technical gremlins prevented it from qualifying in pole on Saturday, Milo Rivera wasted no time in chasing after the front runners. Starting from P4 on the grid, he managed to snatch the lead after only four laps and began to pull away.

He then handed the car over to Ferdie Ong who continued the team's flawless run. Since the Formula V1’s small 20-liter tank was designed more for sprint races, the team had to stop for fuel 10 times over the course of the endurance race. But a perfect error-free run and a great pit stop strategy that took advantage of safety car periods allowed Tuason Racing to secure 1st place from the second hour onwards until the chequered flag dropped.

All-in-all, Ong, Tuason, and Ramirez drove a stint each, while Henderson jumped into the driver’s seat twice. Rivera did most of the heavy lifting for the team, enduring three stints that summed up to over three hours of driving.

Holding onto its #1 status, the Tuason Racing - Formula V1 crossed the finish line in first ahead of the entire 32-car field after eight hours of racing to take the Open Class victory. It covered 186 laps in total, completed the race with a massive four-lap advantage, and set the fastest lap of the race on a single set of high performance GITI Sport GTR3 RR1 tires.

The team’s achievement in the Philippine Endurance Challenge is a fitting end to a successful inaugural season of the Formula V1 Challenge. Its first official outing came during the 8 Oras ng Pilipinas in 2017 where it won on its competitive debut. A full three-round 2018 season then followed where Luis Gono was crowned Pro Class Champion and sent to race at Fuji Speedway as his grand prize. As the series’ culminating event, 14 Formula V1 entries contested in the Ultra 4-Hour Endurance Race just a week before of the 8 Oras ng Pilipinas.

JP Tuason, TRS President: “It has been an amazing back-to-back win in the PEC 8 Oras ng Pilipinas. This finish is a testament to our teamwork, great drivers, and the Formula V1’s speed and reliability. After a great opening season for Formula V1 we look forward to 2019 to creating a premier race series which will hone driver skills for international racing.”