Ace Filipino karters gear up against the bests in the Asian region as the Philippines plays host to the second leg of the 2007 Asian Karting Open Championship dubbed as the 2007 Shell Helix-Casino Filipino Kart Grand Prix set July 19-22 at the Carmona Circuit Philippines.<!–more–>
Over sixty karters from nine participating countries are expected to vie for nine titles at stake in this prestigious annual event sponsored by Shell Helix, Casino Filipino, San Miguel Corporation, Denso Iridium Power, Vivere Hotel, Palmer-Asia Inc., Yokohama Kart Tires — the official tires and supported by Eastway Company-Motorstar and Aeromed Ambulance Transport.
China and Japan are the latest additions to the tough banner field that includes Macau, Hongkong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
Macau appears to be the biggest threat to the Philippines’ bid for the overall title. Without any Filipino rival in their respective divisions, Macau bets Johnny Afonso and Mak Ka Lok bagged the top honors in the Macau kickoff leg last month.
Afonso turned back Wong Tim Wai of Hongkong and Guykoh Boonhan of Thailand to capture the premiere Formula 125 Seniors Open while Mak Ka Lok made it a 1-2-3 finish for Macau in the ROK Seniors together with runner-up Paulo Batalha and Afonso.
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| Mark Bumgarner is expected to impress. |
The Philippines, on the other hand, is hoping to repeat last year’s feat of bagging eight of the nine titles at stake. Jet Racing karters Vencer John Suba and Christian Gaddi bannered the country’s campaign in the Macau kickoff leg. Suba delivered an impressive double title feat when he turned back Malaysian Mitchell Gilbert and Juha Turalba for the ROK Junior crown and later made it a 1-2 finish for the Philippines in the Formula 125 Open Junior class together with Javi Benitez. Gaddi, on the other hand, claimed the Cadet 60 title over teammate Vei-Ar Suba.
Defending Asian Karting champion Marlon Stockinger and 2006 Philippine leg champion Ivan Carapiet have not yet confirmed their participation but the Philippines can pin its hopes on the top three karters of the local Shell Helix Karting Super Series Jean Stefano Marcelo, Matteo Guidicelli and Mark Bumgarner in both the Formula 125 Seniors Open and the ROK Seniors classes.
The bulk of the foreign delegations is expected to arrive by Wednesday or Thursday next week to familiarize themselves with the track. Local karters are advised that the deadline for registration will be on July 16, Monday at 5 p.m. Late entries will be penalized.
For further details on the event, interested parties may contact Carmona Circuit Philippines c/o Rose Feria at 817-2241.