INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines – With veteran internationalists Juha Turalba and Joey Orduna as spearheads, the 10-man Philippine Karting Team vies in the CIK-FIA World Karting Championship that began yesterday at the Kartodromo de Coloane Circuit in Macau.

Orduna, the defending Asian junior champion racing for Ready2Race, is hoping to catch up with the leaders in his division in Macau, after his absence in the Indonesian leg of the series relegated him to sixth in the overall race.

Turalba is aiming to duplicate his feat in the Formula 125 Seniors Open in Indonesia, where he bested a field of 17 for the crown at the Sentul Kart Track in Bogor.

The RP team supported by Red White Racing of Indonesia, the Department of Tourism and the Philippine Sports Commission also includes Christian Gaddi, Marino Sato and Jaz Monzones in the Mini-ROK; Roby Benito in the Formula 125 Open Junior; Jette Calderon in the ROK Junior; and Javi Benitez, John Alvarez and Michael Vaughn Fox in the premiere Formula 125 Open Senior.

Leading the RP contingent is motorsports godfather Johnny Tan, who said that the event will be a great chance for Filipino drivers to catch the eye of the world’s top squads.
“This is the first time that Asia will play host to the world championship and I believe this will open doors for more Filipinos to barge into the world scene,” he said. Cedelf P. Tupas