Guidicelli reigns in kickoff leg

CARMONA, Cavite — Michelle Bumgarner bombed out but reigning karter of the year Matteo Guidicelli of the Cebu Racing Group saved the day for the Philippines by scoring a twin kill Sunday in the kickoff leg of the 2003 Asian Open Karting Championship at the Carmona Circuit here.

A heavy downpour delayed the races and rendered the 1.3-kilometer track wet and slippery but this played to the hands of Guidicelli who romped off with the Rotax Max Seniors class and the Intercon-A class crowns in a big show of force.

Guidicelli, 15, battled teammate Ivan Carapiet wheel to wheel in the Rotax Max Seniors class of the event backed by PLDT myPAD and then pulled ahead in the last lap to emerge as the biggest winner for the day.

He also battled fellow Filipino Indy Villalon to a tight race in the Intercon-A Class and prevailed in 17:36.048, winning by just 0.152 seconds.

Bumgarner, the reigning Asian karting queen who dominated the qualifying heats and the pre-final race, made the mistake of racing with wet tires even as the track was quickly drying up and paid a huge price, falling behind early even as Guidicelli easily took control.

She finished fourth, behind private entry Arvin Drueco who salvaged third. Bumgarner’s brother, Mark, wound up fifth.

"I felt confident at the start. I feel very, very lucky and I thank God for blessing me," said Guidicelli, whose brakes started to heat up in the final two laps. He, however, wisely kept Villalon at bay en route to victory.

"I’m just lucky to have survived it all. I knew I had the right setup at the start but I didn’t expect to experience problems. I’m really lucky today," said Guidicelli.

Bumgarner, 16, charged her defeat to experience, saying she will bounce back in the next legs of the event.

Malaysian Jazeman Firhan and Andrew Tang of Singapore shared the day’s honors, ruling the Rotax Juniors race and the Cadet 85 race, respectively.

Firhan beat Indonesian Rio Haryanto and Filipino driver Marlon Stockinger while Tang relegated Indons Dustin Sofyan and Senna Sulaiman Noor to second and third, respectively.

Race enthusiasts can log on to www.mypad.net for highlights of the races.

Paolo Eslao ruled the Formula SL class while John Alvarez of the Cebu Racing Group won the Cadet 60 division.