MANILA, Philippines - Joey Orduna of Ready2Race became the first and the youngest karter to capture both the Karter of the Year and Junior Karter of the Year titles in a single season.
The 14-year-old Orduna, a Grade 8 student of International School Manila, humbled his senior rivals to prevail in the ROK Overall class and swept the Batangas leg while turning in a runner-up finish in Cebu to clinch the title with a total of 342.5 points.
“It’s the greatest reward for all the frustrations and hardwork this season. This is for my parents, sister Andi, mechanics (Rodel and Mang Joe) and friends who supported me all the way and I share this with my teammates who gave me the needed push to achieve this feat,” Orduna said.
Orduna has indeed come a long, long way since he started racing in 2005 then started winning on his third year. He copped the Mini-ROK crown in 2007 and moving up to a higher class the following year, he further proved his skills by clinching the ROK Junior Novice title and the Asian Karting Junior plum that also netted him recognition from both the Golden Wheel Award and the Automobile Association Philippines.
However, he failed to defend his Asian Karting Junior crown after missing the crucial Indonesian leg and the Thailand championship round.
Prior to the championship leg, he was up by 30 points against teammate and then second placer Roby Benito but struggled to finish 11th in the qualifying heat following a collision.
But he fought back to finish sixth in the pre-final and continued his charge in the final heat to place third behind Stefano Marcelo and runner-up Javi Benitez and his title-clinching feat.
Orduna’s chief backers are Tuason Racing School, Tony Kart, OTK parts, HJC Auto Helmets, Sparco Racing, AIM Racing gauges, Oakley Race Gear, Active Group, Malarayat Golf & Country Club, Antonio’s, Asia Overseas Transport, Anyro Rent-a-Car, Sanyo Seiki Stainless Steel Corp., Bauan Doctors General Hospital, and Cattleya Resort.