11-year-old karter shows promise for formula racing

MANILA, Philippines - Promising karter Sean Draeco Valbuena McLelland showed shades of a future champ following his two runner-up finishes in the recently concluded Formula Cadet Cup at the Carmona Racetrack.

The 11-year-old McLelland, a student of The Seed Montessori in Quezon City, finished second in the Formula Cadet Novice and the Formula Cadet Expert classes after consistently finishing second in the final two legs.

Draeco’s racing dreams started at age 3 when he told his parents he wanted to be an F1 driver someday after getting amused seeing the race on cable TV. 

His dad Brad Lee, who flies in from abroad to watch his every race, and mom MJ got him in a karting clinic late last year and were convinced of his natural racing talents that only after six practices and with no formal training, Sean got their nods to compete in actual races early this year.

He finished among the top five Formula Cadet Novice karters in the 2012 Coca-Cola Karting Super Series highlighting his campaign with a runner-up crown in the Carmona kickoff and three third place finishes in Batangas, the first Asian Karting Open race and at the Enchanted Kingdom.

Under the guidance of renowned veteran coach and race engineer Elson Carpio of Formula-E Racing Management, the Formula Cadet Cup showcased a much-improved Draeco McLelland, whose consistent driving and fighting spirit were the key to his two overall runner-up trophies that earned him a ticket to next year’s Golden Wheel Awards Night.

In Race 7, McLelland started second after submitting 54.279 seconds in the qualifying time trials and constantly chipped off milliseconds in every race to improve his time to 53.859 seconds and stay close behind the frontunner

He went even faster the following day with a time of 53.511 seconds in the time trials for Race 8 and improved it to almost 53 seconds flat in the pre-finals.

 “Draeco really has the natural skills, but without anybody giving him the direction, it will all go to waste.  I’m glad he’s with us now.  With advanced training, better understanding how the kart works and strengthening his focus, he will make it to the top of his class in no time,” said Carpio.