Young Cabrera humbles field, bags 2 titles

MANILA, Philippines - Gabriel Tayao Cabrera grabbed the spotlight in the 2012 Red Bull Race Off, scoring a double victory in the FK Expert and Formula SQ 125 Expert races at Kart Trak Boomland recently.

Cabrera, the 12-year-old SEAOIL-DC-Kart Plaza bet, beat Arthur Tuason of TRS and Mike Andal of SIM Racing to rule the FK Expert division then humbled his older, more experienced rivals in the SQ 125 Expert class, including Paulo Ferrer of Pinoy Karting and TRS Kart instructor Daryl Brady.

“As the only kid racing against older and more experienced rivals, I was challenged with the reverse grid system in the finals. Boomland is a very technical track where skills counted more than engine power. It was a good chance to test how sharp my natural instinct is in terms of driving skills without the help of a professional coach,” said Cabrera.

The talented karter will leave for Indonesia next week to compete as one of the top five Mini-ROK title contenders in the 2012 Asian Karting Open Series. He also dominated the Red Bull race with a best laptime of 30.7, just 0.2 of a second off the best ever recorded time by the SQ veterans in previous karting series.  

Cabrera’s feat in the Red Bull event also impressed Winds Formula’s Japanese scouts and was promptly offered the opportunity to test drive their open wheel cars.

Winds Formula Philippines recently concluded its successful pilot Philippine FP1600 series. Japanese scouts are considering including Cabrera in the pool of trainees owing his exceptional skills despite his young age as they are currently on the lookout for talented open wheel drivers who can compete in Japan’s 2013 S-FJ Series.