The road to F1

As the nation continues to fall deep into the throes of grief, and begins to sober up from the seven-year victory party we had at the expense of 16 of boxing’s greatest champions, the prospect of having a new international sporting sensation couldn’t come at a better time. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying that Manny Pacquiao is done—hell, no! I’m just excited about the idea of spreading out our bets in other sports outside of boxing—especially after rape was formally legalized in its hometown in Las Vegas last Saturday night. 

At the risk of pointing out the painfully obvious, we need more internationally acclaimed sporting heroes. That’s a given. It is a primal need for any nation, and its importance is only magnified in developing ones. But basketball? As much of a national passion as it is, I think we gave that one a pretty good shake. And no offense, but internationally speaking, at least, nothing very spectacular really fell out of that tree. Running? Cycling? Mixed martial arts? There’s definitely potential. Karaoke? Slam dunk, baby. But while that is yet to be officially recognized as an Olympic sport, another discipline that we seem to be naturally built for is motor sports. Pound for pound, we have proven historically, that we can mix it up with the best of them.

We’ve got Dodjie Laurel, Pocholo Ramirez, Jovy Marcelo, as well as Dante and Jojo Silverio, just to name a few. I could go on, of course, but I’ll stop at these legends for now, because I have neither the space in this column nor the budget for personal security should I rattle off a long list and fail to mention everyone. 

But while I have been introduced to countless promising young drivers who have definitely had the potential to be the next Dodjie, Pocholo, or Jovy, this is the first time I have actually written about one that has what it takes to go all the way.

I understand the argument that motor sports is prohibitive and has as much mass appeal here as balut does in Europe, but then again, one could have made the same case against soccer before the Azkals turned themselves into a household name a couple of years back. The key is winning.

And now, 45 years after Dodjie Laurel made history as the first driver to ever win a back-to-back Macau Grand Prix, another Filipino has made history as the first Asian to ever win a grand prix on the most famous street circuit of all time: Monaco.

It all happened a couple of weekends ago, during race 2 of the GP3 series, which runs as a support race for F1 in Europe, where a 21-year-old Fil-Swiss by the name of Marlon Stockinger outraced the rest of the field to claim his highest ever career finish in a thrilling race that saw the safety car come out twice, eventually ending the race prematurely on lap 14 due to damage to the perimeter fence caused by the Lotus of American driver, Conor Daly.

It was a tough race, and one that Marlon had to soak up a lot of pressure from the field, but it’s just the kind of race that turns a lot of important heads—especially if you stamp your win with a fastest lap; and as the sound of the Philippine national anthem echoed through the storied streets of Monte Carlo, and the flag raised slowly above the royalty that assembled below, Marlon’s phone was already buzzing with text messages from F1 bosses, including his own boss, Éric Boullier, who coincidentally, just happens to run the same Lotus F1 team that just recently snagged its fourth podium in the first seven races of the 2012 F1 season.

I’m not getting carried away here, but this win, on top of his second place finish in Barcelona the race before and his 3rd place standing in a championship where he is the sole point scorer for his team of three drivers, is the closest we’ve ever been to the pinnacle of motor sports. Ever. None of this “I have a friend, who knows a friend, who has an uncle, who has a mistress who owes a favor...blah, blah, blah.” Marlon is racing for a series owned and operated by Bernie Ecclestone, for Status racing, which is an A1 Championship-winning team with direct ties to the Lotus F1 team. As a driver, he is managed by Gravity, which is run by Éric Boullier, who, as I mentioned, also happens to be Roman Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen’s boss. 

This is the real deal. Marlon is literally standing in the foyer of F1, and he needs our support now more than ever if we want him to get in. While a seat in GP3 costs roughly 600,000 Euros, a seat in GP2, is usually 2.5 Million, and F1 is upwards of 5 million. Although he can theoretically skip the GP2 series, on those figures alone, you can begin to connect the dots.

But this is not a plea to support one driver; this is a plea to support the hundreds, and eventually thousands of young local drivers who could one day walk through the doors that Marlon has a realistic chance of opening. Just think. Formula One is the most viewed sporting event on earth. Yes, even more than the World Cup and the Olympics, due entirely of course to the fact that over half a billion people tune in 20 times a year, versus a few weeks every four years.

But let’s get real. If the road to Hollywood is paved with broken dreams, the road to F1 is even narrower. Unlike actors, there are only a maximum of 24 drivers on that grid. Those are difficult odds to overcome on your own. Marlon, driven solely by the support of his own family, has come this far. It’s up to us to give him that last push. There are talks of big corporate sponsors showing interest lately, but like new sporting heroes, they can’t come soon enough.

I’m a skeptic. But I have been following Marlon Stockinger’s career for several years now, and I’ve seen his rise for myself. I’ve seen him win and I’ve seen him lose, and it’s the latter that I drew my strongest impressions from. I’ve interviewed him many times, including live on air and once over Skype just days ago, and despite the temptation to hype him and sell him as our next great hope, not once did I ever publicly utter the F word. Until now.

So go ahead, Marlon, don’t be the next Dodjie Laurel, Pocholo Ramirez or Jovy Marcelo; be the first Marlon Stockinger. We’re behind you, kabayan.

Email me at [email protected].