Reyes off to smashing start in karting

MANILA, Philippines - Franco Victor Puey Reyes of Jet Racing/Industria started the karting season with a bang, winning the ROK junior expert title in the kick-off leg of the Magnolia Purewater National Karting Championships held last weekend at the 1.1 km Carmona Circuit Philippines.

The 13-year-old Atenean from Antipolo and Bacolod, topped the pre-final and final phases among the juniors in the combined ROK senior and junior grid, the centerpiece race of the national championships.

Starting fourth on the grid in the 15-lap pre-final, Reyes made a spectacular start quickly tucking in behind top Filipino senior karter, Stefano Marcelo, who was in pole position. He held on to the spot, finishing just 1.4 seconds behind Marcelo, good enough to secure a front row grid for the final.

The 20-lap final saw Reyes dropping two positions with a messy start going into the first corner. Senior driver Juha Turalba and heavily favored junior driver and reigning karter-of- the-year Joey Orduña of R2R Racing quickly took second and third behind Marcelo, while Reyes had to settle down in fourth in the ensuing laps.

Working patiently and methodically, Reyes overtook Orduña on the sixth lap, and never looked back from thereon, finishing the race in 14:35.010, first among the juniors and 2.5 seconds ahead of his closest pursuer.

“I’m so happy I was able to hold my own against the top drivers. I’m looking forward to do more battles on the track with them in the next couple of races,” said a beaming Reyes after the race. “This will surely help in toughening me up for the highly competitive Japanese circuit where I will be doing a couple of races during the summer vacation,” he added.

Reyes, powered by Industria Productions, Bingo Bonanza, EIKO Motorsports, Merlin Engines and Martin Alvendia Photography, will next see action on March 20 and 21 in the Pagcor KF series, also at the Carmona Circuit Philippines.