AUTSRacing bets upend big guns

MANILA, Philippines - Even as the competition gets rough and tough, AUTSRacing karters gallantly fought against the top guns to come up with respectable finishes recently in the third leg of the 2012 Philippine National Karting Series at the Kart Track Boomland.

Young Brian Thorp captured the Formula SL Novice crown and delivered the lone champion trophy for AUTSRacing powered by Kipling’s, BIREL Competition Karts, YAMAHA Winforce, Maynilad Water Services, Kart Care Lubricants and FreeLine Go Kart Parts.

Lady karter Yvana Carangan clinched the runner-up honors in the Formula SL Expert class while Carl Luig bagged third place in the Formula SL Novice division where he still keeps solo leadership after winning the first two legs.

Francis Tanlu, on the other hand, claimed the third runner-up trophy in the Formula Cadet Novice class.

It was the first big win for Thorp this season after making a huge mark last year as the Cadet Novice champion.  Though he incurred bruises on his back after finishing fourth in the qualifying heat, he still showed no hesitation fighting with all his best like a veteran trooper in the crucial afternoon pre-final and final races.

Banking on the racing excellence of his Birel Performance Kart, he pushed his kart’s limit to second best times in the Pre-Final and Final races of the combined Formula SL Expert and Novice classes.

Clocking a laptime of 32.689 seconds, he moved up third overall in the Pre-Final and pushed himself faster with a 32.583 seconds in the grueling 28-lap Final race where he checked in just 1.817 seconds behind the Expert champ.

Both Luig and Carangan figured in racing incidents but gave their best to quickly get back in the thick of the fight.  From a seventh place finish in the Pre-Finals, Luig worked hard to move up and wound up fourth overall in the Finals. 

Carangan, on the other hand, made sure she stays ahead of the other Expert drivers to the finish line to ensure herself of the runner-up crown.

Indy Villalon, a multiple local and international kart champion who rigidly prepared and trained the AUTSracing karters, commended the team for a race well fought on the most energy-exhausting track of the series while Team Manager Martin Alvendia expects the team to bounce back in the next race at the Carmona Racetrack.

“The Boomland track is notoriously the most energy-exhausting leg as it offers no room to relax, but just drive as fast as you can.  Still, our karters came up with good performances to deliver podium finishes for the team,” said Villalon.

For those wishing to join AUTSracing Team and other inquiries, interested parties may contact Martin Alvendia at mobile +639188031036.