Rivera wins Driver of the Year Award

Milo Rivera won the 2015 Golden Wheel Driver of the Year plum in the 12th Golden Wheel Awards Night recently at the Samsung Hall of SM Aura in Taguig City.

The 19-year- old De La Salle mechanical engineering sophomore captured the award on the strength of nine wins in 12 legs of the 2014 Shell Helix National Slalom Series. He is the youngest winner of the slalom division.

Rivera, who won the 2012 International Karter of the Year Award, is currently the country’s Young Driver Ambassador for Motorsports and Road Safety to the Federation Internationale del’Automobile (FIA). He also had stints in the 2013 and 2014 FIA Young Driver Excellence Academy- Asia Pacific Selection Event held in Australia and China, respectively, where the continent’s best young race car drivers are taught to improve motorsports knowledge and ability

“This was very unexpected and I’m very grateful that the Golden Wheel Judging Committee in awarding me the Driver of the Year plum,’ said Rivera.

He beat 10 other contenders who likewise received Golden Wheel trophies for being champions in their respective racing disciplines. They are: Tadahito “Dashi” Watanabe (Superbikes), Dondon Portugal (Grand Touring), Bobby Domingo (National and Asian Karting), Masato Fernando (Scooters), John Emerson Inguito (Underbone), Jon Eleazar Adlawan (Motocross), Gabriel Cabrera (Asian Junior Karting), Gio Rodriguez (Drifting), Edison Dungca (4x4 Off Road), and Jonathan Tiu (Drag Racing).

The Boy Ochoa Award went to Jomari Yllana for finishing third in the Super Race Championship at the Yeongam International F1 Circuit in South Korea, and McKinley Kyle Paz who emerged the overall champion of the Asia Cup of Road Racing at the Motegi Twin Ring Circuit in Motegi, Japan.