Tayao-Cabrera snares Formula Open karting title

MANILA, Philippines - Gabriel Tayao-Cabrera bested a tough field with a superb performance as he captured the Formula 125 Open Juniors crown in the Macau leg of the Asian Karting Open Championships at the Kartodromo de Coloane Circuit recently.

Cabrera turned in an impressive 59-second mark in Heat 3 to the surprise of the big Macau karting aficionados in a feat that matched the laptimes of those in the upper Formula 125 senior class.

The win thus gave the 13-year-old find, who also ruled the Philippine leg last month, the early lead in the race for the Asian Karting junior title.

The Seaoil-DC and Kosmic Japan factory-backed karter also became the first Filipino to win the Formula 125 Open title in an AKOC leg held outside of the Philippines in three years since Cebu’s Jette Calderon won in the AKOC fourth leg in 2009, also in Macau.

Cabrera showcased his driving skills early, batting Chan Tsun Piu in a neck-and-neck duel in the pre-finals although the Hong Kong ace surged past the Filipino bet in the last few laps of the event. 

But Cabrera came through with a spectacular dive at the last turn of the last lap to surprise Chan and the crowd en route to victory in the 18-lap race. He completed the final race in 18 minutes and 20.182 seconds, 8.696-second margin over Chan and 11.304 seconds ahead of third placer Jon Lee Xuanhao.

“I had limited time to get used to the track and my competitors either had home-track advantage or have been competing in the class longer compared to this being my first year in Formula 125 Junior,” said Cabrera, who is set to leave again soon to compete in Indonesia and Japan for AKOC Round 3 and the All-Japan Junior Championship leg, respectively.