Reyes scores breakthru triumph in Asian Karting

Diminutive 12-year-old Franco Victor Puey Reyes of Jet Racing Team, supported by Industria Productions, Bingo Bonanza and Birel Pacific, opened the Philippines’ championship campaign in the first round of the 2008 Asian Karting Open Championships with a convincing win in the 100 cc Yamaha Jr. class held at the Kartodromo de Coloane in Macau, China June 27-29.

The sixth grader from the Ateneo de Manila scored a trouble-free lights-to-flag victory, sweeping both the pre-final and final heats and posting the fastest lap time of 57.422 seconds in the 1.2-kilometer race track. He was 16.091 seconds clear of his nearest rival at the end of the 15-lap final race.

“I prayed for good weather on the eve of the finals, and when it cleared up during the warm-up heat, I felt more confident. The track was drying up fast, so the conditions were improving every lap. All I had to do was fine-tune the carburetion, which I’ve been practicing every weekend in Carmona,” Reyes said.

“My new Birel chassis was already handling very well in the rain. The moment the grip of the track kicked in, I was able to push it some more,” he added.

Dubbed the Iron Man of Philippine karting because of his penchant for entering multiple classes in the championships, Reyes rallied from the back of the grid and finished seventh, in the much stronger 125 cc Jr. Formula Open class, the second highest Filipino finisher, just half a second behind team captain Javi Benitez in sixth place. Bryan Mehta of Malaysia won the class.

Reyes will next see action in the second round of the Asian Championships July 25-27 at the Carmona Circuit in Cavite.