Go kart team Formula E Resultado: Champs of resilience

RESILIENCE, hard work, determination—these are the learnings that local racing team Formula E Resultado brought home from their first international go kart competition.

The recently concluded Asian Karting Open Championship held in Macau last July 1 and 2 was an eye opener for Formula E Resultado’s podium-hungry racers. The technical track, weather conditions, and limited time to practice tested all of the racers’ knowhow on the track.

In the senior category, team captain Danzel Waytan displayed his skills as he went head-to-head with international competitors, even if he missed the first day of practice. This earned his place as the only Filipino in the top 10 during the qualifying heats (P4 in heat 1 and P7 in heat 2)—and that’s out of 28 racers in the grid. Even in the final round, with a strong lead and finishing at P12, he maintained his position as the top Filipino driver in the category.

“To be able to race with top Asian drivers was a very good opportunity for me as it definitely opened my eyes on the potential we have. To also be the highestplaced Filipino is a good sign for us as it means that we’re going forward with my development as a driver,” Danzel shared.

Junior captain Ryan Sy led the junior category as he bagged the champion trophy for the Rotax Max Junior class, and 1st Runner Up for the Formula 125 Junior Open and the Macau Asia Karting Festival Junior classes. With 12 competitors, Ryan showed that he’s a racer to watch both here and abroad.

“It was my first time driving in Macau and AKOC competing against international drivers who were more experienced, so there were a lot of challenges we had to conquer. Despite all of this we just kept pushing and practicing. Thank you to Formula E Resultado for giving me the opportunity to drive,” he said.

Open at the MCC courts in Tubod.

The top-seeded 10-time PCA Open champion earlier trounced Dave Mosqueda, 6-2, 6-1, to forge another title clash with No. 2 Olivarez, who blasted third-ranked Nilo Ledama, 6-1, 6-0, in their side of the semis duel in the 10-day event sponsored by Vice Gov. Mohammad Khalid Raki-in Adiong and held in partnership with PPS-PEPP program put up by Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.

The victory was worth another P80,000 for Arcilla, who racked up five Open victories last year and has so far won three halfway through the season, including the Es cudero Cup last February. He has stayed in top form through diet and training and the help of his coaches and Dr. Mace Navales Li cuanan.

The team’s youngest players raced in AKOC’s Cadet category. The three 9-yearold boys have just shifted to Mini Rok at the beginning of the year. The newest karters Lucio Reyes and Martin Zaragoza only began professionally racing as Cadet Novices in September 2022. AKOC is their first international race, and it proved to be the most physically, mentally, and emotionally challenging competition they’ve joined.

Cadet Expert Andretti Santos led the pack in the qualifying heats and consistently placed P1. After a heavy downpour on finals day, Andretti still finished strong at First Runner Up in the Experts category, and P3 overall.

“I had an incredible experience racing in Macau. The excitement and adrenaline from this race inspired me to push myself even harder,” the rising speedster said.

Lucio, on the other hand, flaunted his talent as he challenged the most experienced young drivers even if he was in the Novice category. In spite of the mix up that happened where he was given the Champion trophy but later named First Runner Up for his class, he is filled with high spirits, saying “It was my first time racing abroad, all in all it was a memorable and good experience.”

Martin also had a great experience, significantly improving and reaching his personal best time come qualifying heats.

During the rainy race, he jumped from P10 to P4 in the Novice class, finishing as Third Runner Up. However, it was determined that he was disqualified and was dropped from the podium finishers’ list. Regardless of the outcome, he shared, “I was frustrated and sad when [the officials] said my win was a mistake. But I gave it my best and reached my personal goal. That’s what matters!”

Poland, which picked up its eighth overall win in 10 games, started pulling away with an ace from teammates Bartosz Bednorz’s service and Norbert Huber’s pair of blocks.

As Poland tightened up their defense at the net, Brazil fell into several miscues as the Poles moved away, 14-9.

They then began nursing a five-point edge, 16-11, off Venero’s pair from the middle of the frontline.

Alan Souza knocked in 17 points for the Brazilians, who now have a 7-4 card and fell to fifth place.

VNL 2021 MVP Bartosz Kurek had 10, while Marcin Janusz hit 17 for Poland, which solidified its inclusion in the top 8.

The 8-team Grand Finals are set from July 19 to 24 in Gdansk City.

Peter Atencio