Cabrera dominates karting super series opener

MANILA, Philippines - Gabriel Cabrera outdueled Lean Linao in a tight finish to capture the inaugural ROK Shifter Senior Max Diesel crown at the start of the 2015 Petron Blaze 100 ROK Karting Super Series at the Carmona Racetrack in Cavite recently.

Cabrera, driving the new ROK Shifter for the first time, dished out top form then warded off Linao’s strong challenge to clinch top honors in the event introduced last year after gaining strong following in Italy and other European countries.

The event was lined up as the new premier class to keep Filipino karters at pace with the world karting competition.

Cabrera, the 15-year-old Grade 10 student at Makati Hope Christian School, placed second in Time Trials with 44.048 seconds but the Seaoil karter struck back in the Qualifying heat and the pre-final where he finished a lap ahead of the field.

As Linao went for a make-or-break bid, Cabrera held his ground with superb defensive moves to foil the former and hold the top spot in the final five laps en route to victory.

The 2014 Junior Karter of the Year completed the 20-lap race in 16 minutes, 29.360 seconds or 0.475 of a second ahead of Linao. VJ Suba came in third.

“It’s a good start.  But there’s still a lot more to learn on my second race as a Senior Karter and handling the ROK Shifter was something new. Though I won, I felt that I still need to familiarize myself with the new engine,” said Cabrera, whose campaign is backed by DC, R’s Design, Gold’s Gym, Media Magic and Point Zero Project.

“With the closely fought final race, I have to work harder in the next legs. Each move has to be calculated well, much more avoid accidents or collisions that could badly damage the kart and force my early exit from the race,” he added.