MANILA, Philippines – Proving his first Asian karting win was no fluke, Arthur “AT” Tuason swept the pre-final and final races anew to capture his second straight Formula Cadet Expert crown in the 2012 Asian Karting Open Championship recently at the Carmona Racetrack.
Tuason, 12, impressed the crowd with his never-say-die spirit to wrest the lone champion trophy for the TRS-Castrol Racing Kids Team powered by Castrol, Bridgestone, Standard Insurance, C! Magazine, OMP, Coke Zero, Oakley, Aguila and Toptul.
Teammate Wils Casequin bagged the second runner-up honors behind Tuason while Flynn Jackes ended fifth in the Mini-ROK division.
Finishing third in the qualifying heat, the young Tuason quickly grabbed the pole and was up front most of the way to rule the pre-final heat, tagging along Casequin for the team’s 1-2 finish.
Dylan Arambulo, who took third place in the pre-finals just 1.408 seconds behind, put up a tougher fight in the finals as he diced with Tuason for the lead several times and got the top spot with six laps to go.
Arambulo appeared headed to victory as he pulled away from his rival, but Tuason caught up with him and engaged him in a neck-and-neck duel towards the finish.