Merry Christmas and have a Happy safe New Year! (Part 2)
special recap and wishes of the 2017 motor sports season will not be complete without mentioning the other talented drivers that helped push a banner racing year. Here are just some of them whom we had the opportunity to see in action and/or made aware of their fantastic achievements.
Anton sensation
One of the biggest and trendiest topics ever to hit our local racing scene is the historic championships garnered by the next generation of the Anton family, Iñigo. At only 13 years old, our dashing and gentle athlete has taken the Novice and Front Wheel Slalom Driver of the Year awards in 2017 where he beat older and more experienced drivers in the process, including his dad!
With his genes coming from his multi-titled, international race/rally champion dad Carlos and the equally multi-talented mom Karen, Iñigo is always one of those sure bets in taking those titles. Never in the history of the sport have I seen this natural talent displayed at such an early age. His family has brought him up well, as Iñigo is also an honor student with numerous awards from his school in Baguio.
Iñigo had already won in international karting last year, appeared on the Little Big Shots program and had set the lap record in Tarlac Circuit Hill last May! He also partnered up with his dotting dad, international race champions Tyson Sy and Stefano Marcelo in the PEC 8-hour Endurance race to win in the FM1 category. All of these championships under his belt even though he hasn’t secured a proper driver’s license yet!
Record-setting Rivera
Our multi-time National Slalom Champion and 2016 Asian Gymkhana Champion Milo Rivera had set a historic record by winning 12 of 12 races in this year’s Phoenix National Slalom Series. His feat wasn’t that easy as he had the premiere racing family, Carlos and Iñigo Anton, making him honest and work hard for the title.
Milo also partnered with Carlos to win the 2nd leg of the 2017 Asian Gymkhana held in Korea last August. The duo had a remarkable run and bested all nationalities including top seeded Japan! They became very emotional in the third leg, as they were able to salvage second place after a hard and problematic run. We have written about their exploits in my past columns before and you can search it here in The only international formula race series, the Petron F4SEA Championship came to the Philippines last October 20- 22, 2017 at the Clark International Speedway. At the last minute, F4SEA Chairman Peter Thompson and the Grimes brothers, Ben and Sam, were able to seal a deal to have them fly the Philippine/ British flags in the races.
The highly partisan crowd felt proud when the fast, 19year old Ben took 2 wins out of 6 races and finished second overall behind the very talented Daniel Cao of China. Cao won 4 races and is currently the leader in the F4SEA series after topping the inaugural Malaysian leg last September.
Sam took an equally impressive 2nd and 3rd places in two races and made everyone take notice that he can do battle with the rest of the international drivers. Thailand’s Kane Shepherd was the top Rookie in the Philippine leg and placed 3rd overall behind Cao and Ben. We hope that the boys can find enough sponsors to complete the F4SEA series and gain more experience.
New blood Ang, Albertos and Buncio
The new generation of international racing sensation is now moving up the ladder in their respective fields on both 2 and 4 wheels. First up is the very determined and hugely talented Jacob Paolo Ang who has secured for the country the Asian karting Open Championship in the Formula 125 SR and X30 Sr classes.
Jacob has the skills and backing to move up the racing ladder and will be a force to contend with. International competitions truly hone one’s skills to the max and other countries had regularly fielded their young drivers to become pro racers at an early age. Jacob will now represent the Philippines in future international competitions and we are hoping that he can bring home the bacon.
The bike racing community is booming and we have the next generation of riders coming up. The Alberto family has the 20-year old TJ and 16-yearold Troy that will now bring the Philippine flag in different global races. TJ had competed in the Campionato Italiano Velocita (CIV) in Italy this year and will do it again in his Ducati. Troy has just qualified for the one make Honda South East Asia Championship and will be our best bet there. He made it on his third try, as there are only limited slots and this shows how competitive the field is.
Will have our final chapter on our remarkable racers next week and hope you have a Happy and Safe New Year!