Young McLelland passes test of skill, will in Asian tiff

MANILA, Philippines - Sean Draeco Valbuena McLelland showed the stuff of a future champ as he lived up to the challenge against older, more seasoned counterparts in the Philippine  leg of the Asian Karting competition recently at the Batangas Racing Circuit.

With a field dominated by the best from Indonesia and Singapore and other parts of Asia, McLelland, 12, never  bllinked as he fought bravely from the bottom of the pit after a spin-out to finish third runner-up in the Formula Cadet Expert Class.

 That was the first leg of the Asian Karting Open Championships, an assembly of the best from every part of Asia and sanctioned by the world governing Commission Internationale de Karting- Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (CIK-FIA).

More importantly,  he drew the admiration of the crowd which got an inkling of what he can achieve in the future.

This week, Draeco leaves for Macau as part of the lean but mean Philippine Karting contingent competing against top caliber foreign rivals in the second leg of the Asian Karting Open at the Kartodromo de Coloane Circuit.

The world-renowned Macau racetrack played host to several prestigious racing events and is more known to favor the driver’s talent and skills more than the power of the machine.

This gives McLelland better chances of delivering the laurels for the country as long as he exhibits the same character, intensity and determination to win.

Gaining confidence after finishing fourth in the qualifying heat, McLelland pushed his limits a little more  and it worked well as he upstaged the top guns to rule the pre-final heat and claim the pole position in the 15-lap final race.

All his hardwork nearly went up in smoke after he figured in a costly spin-out that dragged him to the tailend but McLelland instead quickly got back in the race and got the crowd’s eyes riveted on his fiery rally as he amazingly passed one karter after another until he found his way back to fourth place.

He also wound up seventh in the Asian Mini-ROK class.