Orduna clinches Asian ROK plum

Young champion Joey Orduna of Ready2Race wowed the huge crowd as he unveiled nerves of steel against two European champions to capture the overall Asian ROK Karter of the Year plum recently in the championship round of the 2008 Asian Karting Open Championships at Kartodromo de Coloane Circuit in Macau.

It was the second straight title for the 13-year-old Orduna, a student of International School-Manila, who earlier bagged the local ROK Junior Novice Karter of the Year crown.

He was supported by Tuason Racing School, Tony Kart, OTK kart parts, HJC Auto Helmets, Sparco Racing, AIM Racing gauges, Oakley Race Gear, Golden Harvest Integrated Services and Shipping, BANPU, Barwil-Smith Bell Shipping, Rio-Tinto, FARM and Ford Batangas.

He only finished third, clocking 14 minutes, 52.050 seconds but it was enough to clinch his first career Asian crown with 142 points.

“This is the biggest achievement yet in my karting career, and I’m really happy to pull this feat for the Philippine flag as I look forward to more title-clinching feats next season,” said Orduna.

But what really impressed the crowd was Orduna’s big fighting heart going up against ROK World Cup champion Raphael Aguiar of Switzerland and European Series champ Martin Doubeck of Czech Republic.

Orduna surprised everyone when he qualified second with a time of 50.344 seconds in the time trials, just a few ticks behind Aguiar’s 49.956 but much faster than Doubeck’s time of 50.404.

And as expected, it turned out to be a heated encounter between the young Filipino champ and the Czech ace.