Bernadette Soriano

Filipino sim-racer Danzel Waytan stormed back from a tough qualifying session to bag P2 in a gritty, elbows-out drive at Suzuka in the latest round of SIM² Premier, as revealed in the racer's post made late Sunday night, July 13.

Photos Courtesy of Facebook/Danzel_Waytan.

Launching with blistering pace, Waytan slashed through the pack —“I overtook four cars on the first lap,” he shared — climbing to P3 within just 10 laps and throwing everything he had into a white-knuckle, three-way scrap for the win.

“The pace was strong right from the start,” he said. “After some intense fighting, I made it up to P3 using every trick I had.”

The fight for the top step heated up fast, but a flurry of safety cars and a couple of self-inflicted penalties derailed the charge, leaving Waytan just short in P2 at the line.

“It was a huge weekend for experience and maturity,” he admitted. 

“I’ll definitely be working even harder for Okayama—I’m getting that win soon!”

Backed by Racing Team Hero’s, Waytan is fresh off strong outings in Motegi and the TGR Philippine Cup, making his Suzuka result another sharp step forward in an already promising trajectory.

The spotlight now turns to Okayama, where the rising Filipino driver has his eyes set firmly on the top step of the podium.