Rivera thwarts Singaporean karter bid for 2nd title

MANILA, Philippines - Estefano Rivera of Fern-C Racing foiled Singapore’s back-to-back title bid in the Asian Karting Open Championship as he copped the Formula 125 Open Junior crown in the second leg at the Carmona racetrack in Cavite recently.

Singapore’s Daim Bin Hishamuddin took control early but Rivera wrested the top spot in the next lap to clinch the victory in the event sanctioned by the Commission International de Karting (CIK) and the Automobile Association Philippines (AAP).

The Philippines thus tied Singapore, Malaysia and India with one victory each with Andrew Tang, also of Singapore, emerging the overall champion in the premiere Formula 125 Open Senior category.

India also won after Kush Maini of Gautama Maini Racing upstaged fancied Indonesian bets Perdana Putra Minang of Red White Racing and Presley Martono of DT Racing in the Mini-ROK division while Freddy Lawan took the lone title for Malaysia in the Formula 125 Open Veterans class.

Rivera actually started near the tailend at Grid No. 14 in the pre-final but worked his way back in contention, passing one driver after another to finish third.

After wresting the lead in the final race, Rivera pulled away from the pack and wrapped up the 22-lap event with a 9.335 second margin over Hishammudin.

Alessandra Madrigal, meanwhile, missed making it a double for the hosts as she spun out in the pre-final race of the event sponsored by Petron, the official fuel, San Miguel Corp., Yokohama Tires, the official tires, Denso Iridium Power, the official spark plugs, Vivere Hotel, the official residence of AKOC and Motorstar Eastway, and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.

Madrigal did the near-impossible in the final race where she rallied from 17th to second place behind Tang in the final four laps of the Formula 125 Open Senior. 

Tang hung on to beat Madrigal by 2.143 seconds.

In other results, Gabe Tayao Cabrera pulled off a big upset over perennial winner Raymond Cudala in the SQ Cadet class while another FERN-C karter bet, Sacha Feliciano, emerged the newest female teen sensation as she bested her male rivals to clinch the Yamaha Cup Novice crown over Jaz Monzones of Natmo Racing and Basti Escalante of Tuason Racing.

Other winners were John Castelar of AUTS Racing, who won the Yamaha Cup Senior title, Peterson Lim, who bagged the SQ senior plum, and Daniel Castaneda, who ruled the SQ Novice division.

Meanwhile, Indonesia will host the third leg on Oct. 1-2. For details, contact the Carmona Racetrack c/o Rose Feria at 845-0745, 889-3389, 845-3287 and 845-4142 or visit the website www.asiankarting.com.