Christmas Comes Early for Jon Lee with Three Podiums

Photo © Jet Rabe / Kartmaster Drakar Racing

An extremely exhausted but delighted Jon returned to Singapore on Monday afternoon with three trophies in his hands – Fifth in the Asian Karting Open Championship (AKOC) round 4, Third in AKOC round 5, and Overall Third position in the Championship.

Round 4 and 5 of AKOC were held back-to-back over the weekend at Sentul International Karting Circuit in Indonesia. It was a tough weekend for the racers as the Qualifying, Heat 1, Heat 2, Pre-Final and Final were all squeezed into one day on Saturday and repeated on Sunday. With such a tight schedule, only karters who have good endurance and great determination stood a good chance of winning. Furthermore, the uncertainties and sudden changes in the weather made the race even more challenging!

This was Jon’s first race in the Sentul International Karting Circuit and he was looking forward to completing the AKOC 2012 season. For Josh, younger brother of Jon, it was his maiden race in AKOC. Since the boys are on school holidays, they left for Indonesia on Tuesday evening. The three days (Wednesday to Friday) gave them ample time to practice and familiarize themselves on the track.

Round 4 –

Certain parts of the track were quite bumpy and tires were wearing off faster than usual, making the set-up more difficult for the first-timers. Jon only managed to qualify in fourth position. Racing well in Heat 1 and 2, Jon lined himself up in fourth place on the grid for the Pre-Final. An unfortunate crash in turn one resulted in a drop to the back. Jon then tried to narrow the gap but was involved in another crash, finishing in ninth position. With great determination and racing on a drying track using wet tires, Jon managed to secure the final podium spot of fifth.

Round 5 –

In Qualifying, Jon tried a different approach by going out on the track later but it was still the same – sixth position. During Heat 1 and 2, things did not improve as he came back in sixth position on both heats. The mechanic then decided to change the engine to the spare one. It proved to be the right decision as his pace was much better in the Pre-Final but Lady Luck was not on Jon’s side. The petrol tank cap came loose and flew off, splashing petrol on Jon’s lower body! He had to come into the Parc Femme to get a replacement. Nevertheless he was able to get back to sixth position again. Things changed for the better in the Final race as Jon had a good start and was already in third position going into the second lap. He was faster than the second-position driver but it wasn’t enough to overtake him. In order to secure good championship points, the team signaled to Jon to pace himself and stay in third position until the race ended.

Josh came back 12th and 13th respectively in round 4 and 5 mini rok race.

The Championship –

Overall, Jon secured third position in the AKOC Championship. With full sponsorship from Kartmaster Drakar Racing Team (KDRT), this is Jon’s first time racing in the complete season of AKOC. We are proud of his commendable result.

As we’re about to wrap up an exciting 2012, we received another good news – Jon will receive the “Edusave Good Progress Award 2012” – jointly sponsored by the Edusave Endowment Fund, South East CDC and Joo Chiat Citizens’ Consultative Committee. This award is presented to the top 10% of students with good academic results.