The Day the Lights Went Out

April 7th will remain in the memories of many as a day without lights. All over Luzon, electrons STOPPED flowing through our network of copper wires for over 17 hours in some places!!! The Manila Harbour Centre was one of the unfortunate venues to suffer the lack of voltage.

But, drag racers don't let such things bring us down. With the help from a gas powered generator from Auto Plus, the PDRF was able to push through the darkness and run a great event!

Time trials officially began at 3pm. One of the most memorable moments of the day came from the time slips of The Silver Bullet of Auto Plus. Clicking off multiple 10 second passes, Raymond Go piloted the Silver Honda Civic EG of Auto Plus as the QUICKEST car and DRIVER in the country! I guess NO ONE can say their record run was just a fluke. Go ran a best ET at 10.650 secs. @ 135.54 MPH! Too bad he didn't have anyone to run against. Otherwise, he would've re-written the record books!

After the participants got their fill of time trial runs, by 7pm, elliminations started. Furious racing ensued! 32 participants ran head to head in bracket eliminations in Hot Street and Street Stock.

Traction is steadily improving at the Manila Harbour Centre. PDRF has been using VHT Track Bite for burn-outs passed the line. This enabled rubber to be laid down right on the starting line, giving tires a much better surface grab hold of the tarmac! 60' times are greatly improved among the drivers. Though, the right lane is STILL the better lane.

Quick Silver's regular pilot, Adel Ayroso entered a "new" (new to us, anyway) Honda Civic EF. Just like its counterpart, "Tuleg", as its known, is also a tough contender in the street car category! Without divulging too much, let's just say, the car is capable of running low 15's...EASILY. Oh, did I mention the car is naturally aspirated? Well, it is.

A large group from Baguio came down for the race. I didn't get to meet them (it was really dark! No lights outside the perimeter of the timing tent), but I'm pretty sure one of the teams present was BAGSPEED. Man, their cars were flying! These guys KNOW how to build and drive their cars! They clicked off more than respectable ET's all day long.

Here are the TOP finishers of the day:

New stickers from the PDRF, featuring their sponsor, Monster Radio RX 93.1, were given away to all the participants. It's a KEWL way to represent! I'm sure you can get hold of these stickies at the next event.

Despite the heat and lack of electricity, the PDRF ran a great event. Eliminations were run in under 2 hours! That included 2nd chance brackets in both classes! I guess the years of running events is beginning to take a turn for the better. Great Job, PDRF! I'm sure your participants are VERY greatful.

Next PDRF event: April 21

C U @ D Strip!!!