Franco Victor Reyes cops 2nd in Macau Kart Grand Prix

Bucking the odds, Franco Victor Reyes, the country’s No. 1 junior karter, took runner-up honors in the recent Asian Karting Open Championship Round during the Macau International Kart Grand Prix.

The 15-year-old Ateneo de Manila sophomore gave everything he’s got in the final to go head-to-head with eventual winner Thai Sasakorn Chaimongkol.

Starting third in the final race, Reyes got stuck behind erstwhile overall leader Yasuo Senna Iriawan of Indonesia when the lights went off, enabling the second-positioned Sasakorn to grab the lead going into the second corner.

Malaysian bet Daim bin Hishamudin seized the opportunity and followed Sasakorn. The fast-charging Reyes bolted from Senna and chased the leaders, overtaking Hishamudin a lap after.

Reyes, cheered on by Filipino expatriates in the grandstand who included Consul General to Macau Renato Villapando, continued his charge on Sasakorn, lapping the 1.2-kilometer Macau circuit one-tenth of a second faster than the Thai midway in the 18-lap final. But Reyes’ effort went for naught.

With a few laps left in the final race, Reyes made a last-ditch effort to take Sasakorn at the end of the long straight and into the hairpin at the second corner.

The Thai held his ground, forcing Reyes to back off and allowing Sasakorn to prevail.

Reyes will be moving up to the senior 125cc class starting next season, and will be doing more races in the Japan series, with a couple of major races in Europe in between.