Pampanga karters shine in Speedfest

Pampanguenos Ampok Jimenez, John Sambo and Jay Limjoco lived up to their billing as the darkhorses of the 2002 Speedfest Kart Series when they dominated two categories of the rain-drenched second-leg of the MP Turbo kartfest last Sunday at the Subic Le Mans Kart Track in the SBMA Freeport.

Speedfest is an AAP-sanctioned event sponsored by Zed, Gulf Lubricants, Gatorade, Rainforest Mineral Water, Napoleon VSOP, Gandour Chocolates, BLTB Co., Subic Lemans Race Track and M&M Kart Racing.

Jimenez, Sambo and Limjoco finished 1-2-3 in the KT Novice A and the KT Rated races and in the process pulled off a hat-trick by upsetting their counterparts from Olongapo, Baguio and Manila which included MP Turbo top guns George Apacible and Carlos Anton. Jimenez and Sambo came up 1-2 in the finals of the combined MP Turbo Open-KT Rated race to upend MP Turbo’s aces.

Anton, who started the qualifying heat on pole, lost the front spot to Jimenez when his hi-tension wire came off and sent an electric jolt into his right elbow in mid-race. Jimenez never looked back from thereon to finish the qualifying heat in first place.