Pinoy karters shine in Asia Zone Open

SENTUL, Indonesia — Two young but talented Filipino karters made the country proud anew by winning the overall titles in their respective categories in the 2002-2003 CIK-FIA Asia Zone Open karting championships at the Sentul international racetrack here over the weekend.

Eduardo "Dado" Peña bagged the overall title in the Intercontinental A, while Michelle Bumgarner captured the crown in the Jr. Intercon class to underscore the Filipinos’ impressive showing at the conclusion of the prestigious four-nation, three-part series also held in Carmona, Cavite last August and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last December.

Peña, a 15-year old high school student of Southridge (Alabang), finished with a three-round aggregate of 71 points, seven points ahead of his closest rival Nik Iruan of Malaysia in the intercontinental A.

Bumgarner and fellow Filipino karter Mateo Guidecelli finished 1-2 in the junior intercontinental class.

Bumgarner, the only female competitor in the registry, wound up with 68 points, followed by Guidecelli with 65 points and Kenny Kartasashmita of Indonesia with 64 points.

"We’re very happy with the accomplishments of our karters. It only shows that our karters are at par with our Asian neighbors in terms of talents and skills," said head of delegation Johnny Tan, who also thanked Casino Filipino, Shell and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) for their all-out support to the karting team.

Two other Filipino entries — Lee Bumgarner and son Mark Bumgarner — also made their presence felt in their respective classes.

Lee finished second overall in the Rotax Max Challenge behind Ferhan Fauzy of Malaysia.

Mark, on the other hand, wound up third overall in the cadet 85cc category behind two Malaysian entries.