Reviving motorsports one step at a time
MIKE POTENCIANO
It’s funny how things change and some don’t. This is so true with local Motorsports and what we saw so many years ago is still the same today.
My forever partner and I just came from our successful Nissan Road Safety Seminar in Cebu last week and have trained more than 35 drivers to become part of our Road Safety Warriors campaign.
We were able to meet up with our old Cebu Kartzone drivers Atty. Jess Garcia, brothers Justin and Jed Neri and Toyota Vios Cup race champion and fellow media man Lord Seno. They were all there watching the Petron Karting Academy held in Cebu and it was a great turnout of almost 40 kids, from 7-15 years old taking their first plunge into karting.
After the event, we met up for dinner and also caught the group of Wendell Go and the Kart Plaza team of Rose Feria, Edgen Dy-Liacco and Jon Dizon after. We all had high hopes that this is a good start for Cebu and karting in general. We exchanged ideas and this is where I remembered that I wrote about my plan to help revive karting in the country.
It looks like it is still relevant today and we hope to see it implemented by our combined efforts soon. Here is the article we wrote before and just edited it to fit our available space. Let’s start with the good news on why karting is perfectly fit for us Pinoys.
Good news
Let’s start with the good news. The Filipinos have the right build and stature to excel in Karting. We don’t need the height and hefty weight to win. Our petite frame is just right and in fact, is a big advantage. There are also good tracks around that were established to help the enthusiasts since 1991. There are also very good Kart instructors to help the newbies.
The sport is also complemented by rental kart venues where people can share their passion for some fun around a kart track. Some people have also said that Karting is already main stream and is known by the majority of people that like cars.
With all of this positive groundwork, Our MP Turbo Team will now throw in the following support to help bring back the golden age of Karting.
Kart clinics
One of the best ways to bring back Karting is to get new and old blood back into the sport. We will have to invite them to kart clinics and do it on a regular basis. At least once a month in different locations will be a good start. This will get the newbie’s’ feet wet without going far from their homes. This will entail a lot more work especially with safety barriers and a bigger team to marshal the event but I believe this will be worth it.
These non-permanent locations will not be ideal for cadet drivers like 12 years old and below, but the young professionals and veteran drivers will be happy with a new track that no one has previous knowledge of. This will remove the factor of drivers getting an extra advantage by practicing day in and day out on the same track. The good drivers will also shine in these tracks as the natural talent will be seen right away.
Affordable costs
As in any form of racing, the one who has the deeper pocket can almost be assured of winning the event. However, we should try to keep the costs down and make it affordable and available to a huge number of enthusiasts. We can find out the good drivers out there by making it easier for all to race.
One way of making it more affordable is to use a one-make, arrive and drive format. This means that all the karts have the same chassis, same engine and same tires that are taken care of by 1 team. There will be tight regulations as to what you can fix or change on the kart and there will be drawing of lots as to what engine you will be able to use for that day.
The karts for beginners will be rental karts with Honda 4-stroke engines. This will be the cheapest and most durable kart to start on. The next level will be direct-drive, Yamaha KT100S, 2-stroke engines on race karts, which are more powerful and lighter than the 4 stroke engines.
Finally, we have the engines from used or repossessed scooters that can be used for the high-end classes. These karts will be good stepping-stones to the higher, international-spec machines once they have made up their minds and want to take Karting seriously.
Race series/venue
Permanent tracks like Carmona, Clark and Batangas are great and safe tracks for the fast machines. However, the fans have a hard time going all the way to these tracks to watch and cheer in these events.
We will have to organize events in commercial establishments, parking lots and high public traffic to make the the sport visually appealing and showcase the exciting racing action that Karting can offer. Having 20 karts all funneling into one turn and dicing for every little bit of space to overtake will make anyone stand on their feet during the whole race.
Back to the future
I wrote this more than 2 years ago and it’s still the same thoughts I have today. We are happy that finally Petron is now back in force in Motorsports and they weren’t there 2 years ago. Finally, something is happening and let’s change things by learning from the past. Godspeed and hope to help revive karting soon!
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