Jackes first Asian mini-ROK champ

MANILA, Philippines - Flynn Jackes bested a crack field to become the first Asian Mini-ROK champion in the Asian Karting Open Championship Series at the Kartright Speedway in Singapore recently.

Jackes, a Tuason Racing School mainstay, bucked the odds to rule Rounds 4 and 5 and clinch the overall Asian Mini ROK championship by 43 points, besting the likes of Singaporean top guns Alex Brown, Dylan Roger Bondi and William Austen.

“It’s a big milestone feat for Flynn and Tuason Racing School is proud to have a hand in his record win for Philippine Karting.  His feat also underscores the success of the Tuason Racing School Race Career Management Program (TRS-RCMP),” said Tuason Racing School founder and president JP Tuason.

The 10-year-old Jackes’ campaign was backed by Tuason Racing’s corporate partners BMW, Bridgestone, Standard Insurance, Coke Zero, PUMA, OMP, C!Magazine, Aguila Auto Glass, Acer,  Oakley, Toptul,  Bellevue, Karate Kid and Go Pro.

Ranged again the local aces who had the proverbial hometown advantage, Jackes, son of Australian pilot Ross and Filipina Daisy, never got discouraged and stayed focused despite falling to last place on the grid in the first qualifying heat after his fuel line came off.

But with hard work and strategy, Jackes drove past other karters and finished second to the local champion Brown. He also placed fourth in the second heat after he was rammed by a Singaporean driver but the young Filipino ace pushed his kart’s limit to take a big surge to the top and eventually rule the Pre-Final race.  

Later, inclement weather and lightning forced race officials to cancel the remaining races and declared the Pre-Final outcome as the final result for Round 4.

With his victory firming up his overall lead, Jackes went all out as he qualified first on the grid with a new track record for Mini-ROK and topped the Pre-Final race over Brown with another Filipino Jacob Ang coming in third.

In the final race, Jackes quickly pulled away and eventually captured the Asian Mini-ROK plum with a 2.452 second-margin over Alex Brown.