Fern-C karters bag 5 trophies

MANILA, Philippines - They may be neophytes but the Fern-C Racing Kids proved their potentials as future champions following their big haul recently in sixth and penultimate leg of the 2010 Magnolia Purewater Karting Super Series at the Clark International Raceway.

Top bets Estefano Rivera and Aira Medrano rose to the occasion as they copped two champion and two runner-up trophies with the big support of Fern-C, PCR-Italy, Placewell International Inc., Getaway Tours Int’l. Inc., and Golf Sky.

Rivera, a Don Bosco high school freshman, emerged as the biggest revelation as he captured the ROK Novice plum and the runner-up finishes in both the ROK overall and ROK junior divisions.

Medrano struggled in the qualifying heat and the pre-final but made her sweet revenge against Basti Escalante in the final race to clinch the Mini-ROK crown.

Chan delivered the fifth trophy, putting up a good fight against top contenders to finish fifth overall in the Formula SL Novice class.     

“Their achievements made us really proud. They may be young and neophytes in the sport but they’ve shown big hearts and endurance to reach the top much like how Fern-C made it as the top Vitamin-C supplement in the Philippines,” said Fern-C president and CEO Tom Tan.

Estefano, the biggest discovery last year after bagging the Rookie of the Year, the Asian Yamaha Junior title and the Formula SL crown in a single season, literally stole the show as he posed the biggest threat to two-time champion Stefano Marcelo in the ROK overall race.

Outmaneuvered by Marcelo while crossing the finish line in the qualifying heat, a more aggressive Rivera showed the way in the pre-final where he scored a convincing triumph over the two-time champ by 0.963 of a second.

A slow start relegated Estefano to seventh place in the final race but relentlessly rallied back to third, posting the day’s fastest laptime of 1:01.103 to wind up second overall behind Roby Benito after Marcelo was penalized for a jumpstart.

Medrano, on the other hand, lost to Escalante by a hairline finish in both the qualifying heat and the pre-final but made sure she got the last laugh as she won the Mini-ROK crown by just 0.067 of a second ahead.