He’s at the second highest level of motor sport. Higher than any Filipino has ever been before. Yes, there was the legendary back-to-back Macau GP winner, Dodjie Laurel, and the late Jovy Marcelo, who went as far the Indianapolis 500—but this is the first time a Filipino has not only scored world championship points on international racetracks, but has won a world championship race in the most storied street circuit of all time: Monaco.
He finished second in Monza in the first round of the World Series by Renault (WSR) this month, just behind the Red Bull-backed Carlos Sainz, jr. He stormed through the field to finish fourth in Spain on the second round of the WSR last weekend and is already being groomed for an F1 seat as part of the Lotus junior F1 team. But for all he’s done, he doesn’t get a fraction of the sponsorship or support of even the most average PBA import.
Meet Marlon Stockinger. I’ve introduced him to you before, but I will forgive you if you’ve forgotten. Because unless he’s dribbling a basketball, holding a billiard cue or wearing boxing gloves, he simply falls off the radar of corporate sponsorship and mainstream prime-time media.
I’m not knocking basketball, billiards or boxing; I’m simply saying that it is not the only thing we can be good at. And it is time to start spreading the investment around a bit to nurture talent in other sports where we stand a fighting chance––especially in sports where the average Filipino height can actually be an advantage.
So far, Globe Telecom is the only major corporate sponsor to help subsidize Marlon’s campaign in this year’s World Series by Renault. And thankfully, ABS CBN’s Sports and Action channel have agreed to air his races on the same day. But it is nowhere near enough.
Everyone else is waiting for him to get into F1 before they support because that is when the real audience happens. But waiting for him to get into F1 before you support is like asking your kids to pay their way through primary, elementary, high school and college and only reimbursing them if they become successful.
Big sponsors will argue that motor sports is an elitist sport and that there’s no local audience watching––even if it costs as much to watch a race on TV than it does to watch a basketball game or a boxing match. They just need to air it. Case in point, Michael Martinez. How many Filipinos cared about ice skating before then? I rest my case. It is not the sport we love, it’s success. And the Filipino is capable of so much more of it. Given enough backing.
Marlon’s next race is in Monaco on May 24 and will be a support race for F1. It will be aired on ABS CBN Sports and Action Channel on Sunday, May 25. To see exclusive video of Marlon’s F1 test, you can visit the author’s website on www.jamesdeakin.ph.