Punishing success

Matteo Guidicelli, save for hi unique name, is an easy-going kid with a ready smile. He readily talks to anybody, and isn’t the typical swellheaded brat whose expensive sporting exploits are funded by well-off and well-meaning parents.

But it was very difficult for the three-time Karter of the Year to smile last Thursday, as ha faced a group of grizzled sports media men in his first press conference. And it was not to celebrate. It was to protest.

Last weekend was the final series of races in the 2005 Shell Super Kart Series in Carmona,

Cavite. Guidicelli was very familiar with high-stakes races. After all, he has been Asian Karting Championship runner-up three times, and became the first Filipino to win two Karter of the Year titles in the same year, claiming the premier Intercontinental A Class Open Championship as well as the Junior Rotax Championship last year. And he was only 14.

Guidicelli was 12 points ahead, and didn’t even need to win the last race. He didn’t have to unnecessarily expose himself to a collision. At the very least, all he had to do was finish immediately behind pole sitter Michelle Bumgarner, and the Karter of the Year trophy would be his once again.

The final race was a fiasco, as witnessed by members of the media and other karters. As the karts from the previous race (participated in by Guidicelli’s teammate John Alvarez) were being weighed, the final race was set to start. This surprised the fifteen-year old, whose kart hadn’t been warmed up yet. The pits were not cleared, Matteo’s Team CRG chief engineer was still checking on Alvarez. Records show that the final race, which was originally scheduled to start at 3 p.m., actually ended at 2:50. This means it commenced half an hour ahead of schedule.

"There’s usually a briefing before each race, but this time, there wasn’t," Guidicelli told media men gathered at the Manila Hotel. "We asked for a two-minute extension, so I could warm up my kart. They didn’t allow it." According to the champion’s camp, the Clerk of Course (the equivalent of a referee), veteran Gabby Intengan, allowed the pole sitter Michelle Bumgarner to run the pre-race pace lap and formation lap at a very high clip when, in other instances, he had even ordered racers to slow down. They also claim there was no countdown to the start.

As a result, the defending champion started the race half a lap (about 30 seconds) behind, while he was still making adjustments to his carburetor. Nevertheless, he made an impressive go of it, cutting the deficit down to seven seconds. Then, his chances to salvage his title were completely taken away from him.

"After moving up into fourth, the leader’s teammate who was in no way in contention for the championship and who was sponsored by the leader’s team just before the final race, bumped me from behind after I had already successfully completed an overtaking maneuver, in what certainly seemed like an intentional and dangerous move," Guidicelli recalled in a statement." The said actions were never reprimanded by the Clerk of Course.

Unlike in stock car racing, a collision in karting is almost certain to knock one out of the race, and may even cause serious injury.

"Matteo is a good kid, and not to brag, but he’s done so much for the sport," offers Joji Dingcong, Guidicelli’s manager. The Filipino-Italian racer is the only athlete in Dingcong’s formidable stable of artists, which includes celebrated singer Martin Nievera. "With all his endorsements and exposure, he has brought a new popularity to the sport. It is a shame that everything he has worked for over one year can be lost in one day, an unfairly."

Truly, young Matteo is everywhere, often flying in from his native Cebu for commercial shoots for Pepsi, Penshoppe and his other endorsements. Guidicelli takes on these assignments because he wants to defray the massive expenses his parents have incurred in funding his races. He has also flown to Italy on his own, so he could spends weeks training with top Italian karting teams.

Some observers feel that the antagonism towards the youngster is because, firstly, he is considered an outsider. He is not from Metro Manila, and simply took the karting world by storm. Secondly, some say that the animosity is in retaliation to the frank and open nature of Matteo’s Italian father, Gianluca, who readily comments on inconsistencies and unfairness he notices when he watches the races.

"If the reforms we want implemented are not made, then we will no longer participate in local races," confirms former triathlete Noy Jopson, who manages Guidicelli’s sports career. "We will have to compete in races where that particular Clerk of Course is not involved, or compete internationally."

"But I will always carry the Philippine flag wherever I go," Guidicelli emphasizes. "I feel sad that what I worked for was taken away from me, but I will also proudly compete as a Filipino, in races where I feel I will be treated fairly."

And once again, a successful champion will have been punished for merely being better, on his own merit, than those with whom he competes.