Indonesian ace closes in on Asian karting crown

MANILA, Philippines - Sean Gelael of Indonesia struggled to finish seventh in the Thailand leg of the Asian Karting Open Championship recently but remained on track for top honors with one leg left in the circuit.

Gelael is banking on his sweep victories in Macau and Indonesia as he pooled a total of 106 points in the Formula 125 Open Senior class, 21 points clear of erstwhile leader Malaysian Weiron Tan, who dropped to second overall with 85 points.

Another Indonesian, Senna Sulaiman Noor, is in third overall with 48 points with Malaysian Natasha Seatter and Singapore-based Englishman Richard Bradley staying in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Indonesia is also eyeing the Asian Junior Karting crown behind Yasuo Senna Iriawan of Red-White Racing, who has assembled 110 points to show the way in the Formula 125 Open Junior division.

Andersen Martono of Singapore is in second with 93 points while Thailand’s Chatmonkon Wisutthisen has 61 points for third. Macau’s Andy Chang Wing Chung and Indonesia’s Darma MH follow with 53 and 41 points, respectively.

Despite the absence of Filipino contenders in the event, presented by Red White Racing of Indonesia and sponsored by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Department of Tourism, Asian karting organizer and RP Motorsports patron Johnny Tan said the sport is on the upswing.

“This just proved that karting is very much alive in the Asian region, and this inspires us to work harder in our goal of developing Asian champions in world motorsports,” said Tan.

The other leaders in the other categories are Malaysia’s Gary Mumford in the Formula 125 veteran and Chang Mun Shien in the Rotax Max Seniors, Singapore’s Benjamin Goh in the ROK Senior, Macau’s Andy Chang in the Rotax Max Juniors and Singapore’s Maximilian Fewtrell in the Mini-ROK division.

The final leg will be held Dec. 9-12 at the Kartodromo de Coloane Circuit in Macau.

For details, contact Carmona Circuit Philippines c/o Rose Feria at 817-2241.