Veteran race driver and former Vios Cup champion, Allan Uy, is the 2022 Manila Sports Car Club Miata Spec Series Champion.
After four race weekends and eight grueling rounds, the first-ever one-make sports car race series in the country concluded yesterday, November 27th, at the Clark International Speedway, with points leader Allan Uy taking two more wins in Rounds 7 and 8 to secure the necessary points to bag the championship.
Coming into the fourth race weekend, Uy held a slim 9-point advantage over perennial series rival Angie King. This was after Uy, and two other competitors were excluded from the rain-soaked third leg last October 29th due to missing the deadline for handing over their MX-5 Spec race cars for scrutineering. This allowed King, Paul Perez, and formula racing ace Tyson Sy to earn precious points to close the championship gap.
With the qualifying session for Round 7 dominated by Tyson Sy, Uy had to start from 11th place in round seven due to a loose oil plug during the session. Uy banked on his racing experience to pass other competitors on the track, eventually overtaking Angie King on the 10th lap to take the lead and the win.
Round 8 likewise saw Tyson Sy on pole position and King on third, but this time Uy started from a more competitive P2. At the start, Uy overtook Sy into the first corner and was set to hang on for the lead until Sy made contact with the right rear corner of Uy's MX-5 on the exit of the big loop.
Despite finishing first in Round 8, Sy was penalized for the bump on Uy and received a one-position down penalty, and was relegated to second. Uy once again took maximum points. Angie King finished her race in third. But the points earned by Uy were more than enough for him to walk away with the overall championship title. King finished the season as runner-up to Uy.
The MSCC Miata Spec Series is a one-make racing event with all drivers, members of the Manila Sports Car Club, racing specially modified Mazda MX-5s. Thirty drivers competed in three different classes - Pro, Masters, and Novice according to skill level. Shell Philippines, GT Radial, and Rota Wheels have supported the event for its first season this 2022.
With an automotive career spanning 27 years as a former touring car racer turned automotive journalist and photographer, Mikko also handled marketing and PR for two major Japanese car brands before finding peace and purpose in sharing his views about cars, driving, and mobility.