RP karters shine in China tiff

ZHUHAI, CHINA – The Philippines’ Kart 1 Team of Richard Joson and Philip Alvendia wrapped up their campaigns with decent finishes here, even outdoing the other veterans of the Formula China 2000 at the Zhuhai International Circuit.

Joson, on his second year of racing here, emerged the top Filipino finisher as he clinched fourth place in the final race while Alvendia, who recently bagged the Karter of the Year award, turned out the biggest surprise as he wrapped up sixth overall despite being a first-timer in this circuit.

The Kart 1 Racing tandem, sponsored by Hanjin Shipping, MOF Company, Inc. and Senator Lines, bested other favored veterans of the FIA-sanctioned event including British ace Mike Miller, Swiss Daniel Marti and Hongkong top drivers Pete Tong and renowned Ma brothers Philip and Patrick.

"Actually, we went there just to experience the race and we didn’t expect to reach this far. Basically our goal was to learn more about the track and equipment and the trip was more successful than expected," said Alvendia.

"I made it fourth basically because of my experience racing here last year. But it was tough going against the big names here. If we had better technical knowledge and equally competitive equipment, we could have done better," echoed Joson.

China’s Wang Chao eventually ruled the final race while compatriot Liu Yang and Hongkong’s David Louie ended second and third, respectively.