SEAOIL karter Gabriel “Gabe” Tayao Cabrera capped the 2015 karting season with a big bang following his podium win at the Asian Karting Open Championships at Kartodriomo de Coloane Circuit in Macau.
The 15-year-old Makati Hope Christian School student emerged a hero for his dramatic third place win in the X30 Division coming from behind, making him the first ever Filipino to win in the class.
Cabrera was the second youngest driver of the series’ largest class with 41 seasoned drivers from Macau, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.
Initially using engines provided by a foreign supplier, Cabrera was besieged with mechanical problems from time trials to the heats that caused him to fall far back in the grid.
Hopes for a podium win was kept alive after AUTS Racing’s Indy Villalon, a former mentor of Cabrera, came to the rescue by providing a brand new engine.
“This is a wonderful ending to a very challenging year after winning in Malaysia and Thailand last month,” said Cabrera.