THE ANTONS - A DYNASTY IN THE MAKING
Carlos Anton, 49, learned how to race cars from his father Miguel, and is now teaching his son Inigo, 16, the same racing savvy.
Miguel Anton, the first to race in the family, was mentored by the late great Pocholo Ramirez who was his teammate in Team Renault in the Shell Car Rally days during the 1960s.
Carlos learned the art of car racing from his father Miguel in the 1980s, and in 1989 began competing in slaloms at age 18. In the early 1990s, MP Turbo Rally Team founder Mike Potenciano took
Carlos Anton under his wing.
It wasn't long before Carlos Anton began collecting trophies. He won the National Karter of the Year twice - in the novice class in 1995 and in clubman in 1996. AAP named him Driver of the Year eight times: one each for Rally Cross (1996) and Philippine Touring Car (2013) and six times for Hill Climb Racing (2007 to 2012).
Moreover, Anton won the Formula Toyota Novice Championship in 2000 and was awarded the Golden Wheel award twice for Circuit Racing (2003 and 2007).
Carlos Anton first taught his son Inigo the basics of car racing before the boy joined the AAP Motor Sport Development Program (MSDP). Inigo became the youngest finalist of the MSDP at age 13.
But even before enrolling in the MSDP, Inigo was already into motor sport. Inigo started racing cars at age 8 in the Circuit Showdown Time Attack events.
In 2016, Inigo Anton proved his racing mettle when he bagged the AAP Cadet Karter of the Year award, followed by the National Front Wheel Slalom Championship in 2017 and again in 2018. He was the youngest ever, at just 13 years of age, to capture the slalom championship.
This year, at age 15, Inigo showed the way once more when he won the Philippine Autocross Overall and Open Championship along with the Vios Festival Autocross Championship.
Carlos Anton plans to continue supporting his son's motor sport career and aspirations at both the national and international levels with the help of AAP and its MSDP. "With the blessings of AAP, Inigo has competed at the 2017 Asian Auto Gymkhana Championship in Taiwan and in the Asian Karting Open Championships in Macau and Thailand," he revealed.
The Antons live in Baguio City, where Carlos Anton helps in running the familyowned restaurants. As shown by the father-and-son duo's multiple awards in motor sport, the fresh air and high altitude of Baguio City help athletes to develop endurance and strength which are needed to become a successful race car driver.