Togawa, Borja outrace foes

Riders in the peewee and ATV divisions head out to the course during the Marianas Racing Association races held last Sunday at the Kan Pacific grounds. (Joseph Chin)

Keenon Togawa and Theresa Borja ruled their respective competitions in the Marianas Racing Association’s tournament held last Sunday at the Kan Pacific grounds.

Togawa

Togawa clinched the top honors in the peewee class, as he won both Heats 1 and 2 of the division, besting four other competitors. The 7-year-old rider collected 25 points each from his first place finishes on Heat 1 (forward) and 2 (reverse) for the 8-point victory over Ezekiel Camacho.

Borja

Camacho placed third on Heat 1 and received 20 points. He then moved up to second overall, as he had a better showing in the final heat, getting the No. 2 spot (22 points) behind Togawa. Heat 1 runner-up finisher Bently Koshiro, who took 22 points after the first race, dropped to fifth on Heat 2 and earned 16 points to settle for the fourth spot.

Harley Susulin booted Koshiro out of the Top 3 finish, as the 8-year-old climbed to third place on Heat 2 after ending up at fourth spot in the first heat. Susulin and Koshiro collected 38 points apiece after the two heats, but the former won the tiebreak due to her better ranking on Heat 2. Zane Fujihira rounded out the finishers list in the peewee class (dirt bike).

In the ATV class, Borja won her one-on-one race against Harley’s younger sister, 4-year-old Brooklyn.

Alvarez noses out Taimanao
Meanwhile, there was a close race for first place in the Minis 1 and 2 class with Mari Alvarez slipping past E.J. Taimanao.

Alvares

Alvarez got off to a strong start when she prevailed on Heat 1 to notch 25 points. On Heat 2, the lone female rider in the division fell to second place, but it was enough to gain her additional 22 points for a 2-point victory over Taimanao, 47-45.

Taimanao ruled Heat 2 to bag 25 points, but he finished only third on Heat 1 for 20 points, hurting his chances to overtake Alvarez for the top overall rankings in the Minis 1 and 2. Mini 1 class is for riders utilizing 65cc 2 stroke to 110 cc 4 stroke bikes, while Mini 2 participants use 85cc (2 stroke)-150cc (4 stroke), but MRA combined the two divisions since only five raced last Sunday.

M.J. Camacho (42 points) and Ethan (36) and Devin (32) Yumul were the other competitors in the division. Camacho was ranked second on Heat 1 and third on Heat 2, while Ethan placed fourth in both heats, and Devin came in fifth.

Besides the pewee, ATV, and Minis 1 and 2 races, MRA also hosted competitions for veteran, expert, novice, and adult ATV classes and results of these races will be reported in Saipan Tribune’s Thursday issue.