Japanese outshines Pinoy karters in Clark

Kaito Tsukada posted a handsome sweep of Races 5 and 6 to steal the thunder from his Filipino rivals in the recent Petron ROK GP Karting Super Series at the new kart track of Clark International Speedway in Pampanga.

Tsukada, the phenom from Tokyo who finished runner-up in a leg of the highly competitive 2018 All-Japan Kart Championships recently, came all the way from sixth spot on the starting grid to top Race 5 in 16 minutes and 56.048 seconds.

He pipped second placer Jarred Kim, a junior ROK campaigner, by 0.945 of a second and another junior karter, Bianca Bustamante, by 8.699 in the 21-lap spin over the sleek 13-turn 1.25-kilometer track.

Prerace favorite John Dizon and Karl Wilhelm rounded out the top 5 overall in the combined race.

Setting out second on the grid after the two qualifying heats in a sunny Race 6 on Sunday, the 16-year-old Japanese prevailed this time with a quicker clip of 16:48.20 minutes, 1.828 seconds clear of Dizon and 4.57 ahead of Kim.
The surprisingly aggressive Kim settled for the junior titles in both races over Bustamante, with Miguel Quinones, Tammy Baisa and Tara Laconico placing third to fifth in Race 5.