Fern-C kart kids come of age

MANILA, Philippines - Two years in the racing scene, Fern-C Racing has evolved into a major contender in Philippine karting as shown in the accomplishments of its wards in the recently concluded 2010 Magnolia Purewater Karting Super Series at the Carmona Racetrack.

With Edgen Dy-Liacco at the helm as team manager and head coach, the team composed of Estefano Rivera, Milo Rivera, Aira Medrano, Matthew Chan, Sacha Feliciano, Carl Pollington and Lawrence de Leon made big strides this season, with the big support of FERN-C, Getaway Tours Int’l. Inc., and Golf Sky.

Fern-C president and CEO Tom Tan was elated over the team’s performance, saying “We’re happy with their achievements this season as we expect them to be strong title contenders, if not the champions in their respective classes next year. And it’s quite inspiring that as early as now, we’re already planning the team’s expansion for next year.”

The team, led by Rivera, Medrano and Chan, will also be joining the Phl Team competing in the final leg of the 2010 Asian Karting Open Championship set Dec. 9-12 at the Kartodromo de Coloane Circuit in Macau.

Estefano, a Don Bosco high school freshman, made an impression on his first season with the “big boys” in the ROK division as he emerged overall runner-up in the ROK Novice and third overall in the ROK Junior. Though only 13, Estefano provided the showstopper against older and more experienced rivals in the ROK classes.

Milo proved impressive in the KF2 series and achieved a big feat leading the Novice Driver of the Year race on his rookie year in the National Slalom Championship Series.

Medrano captured the overall runner-up crown in the Mini-ROK division. Her archrivalry with champion Basti Escalante consistently drew the crowd’s attention as she kept dicing for the lead against the latter.

Pollington, hardly showing any rust after a long absence, finished runner-up in the final race by just 0.010 of a second behind Escalante.

Chan also gave a strong fight as he wound up fourth overall in the Formula SL Novice class.

Feliciano was the erstwhile leader in the Formula SL Novice division and also a strong contender for the Rookie of the Year award just before a shoulder blade injury sidelined her in the last two legs of the event.