Asian karting continues to polish Cabrera’s talent

MANILA, Philippines - Seaoil karter Gabriel Tayao-Cabrera, the biggest name to emerge from Philippine karting, is well on his way to international fame, thanks to the National Karting Super Series, which became his training ground, and the Asian Karting Open Championships, which is now his proving ground.

The prestigious annual Asian series, sanctioned and approved by the world governing Commission Internationale de Karting-Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (CIK-FIA), has blessed the 15-year-old Cabrera with rare opportunities to be an international rider with a chance to be noticed by some of the big names in the world racing scene.

It all started when Malaysian conglomerate Nizra Group, the Asian distributor for the world’s number one kart brand Tonykart, joined the Asian Karting Open Championships. Cabrera, powered by DC, Gold’s Gym, R’s Design Japan, Point Zero Project and Media Magic, was taken in as its first Filipino rider in the Nizra Motorsports’ lineup.

Nizra’s international team is composed of multinational senior drivers meticulously chosen for their championship potential to compete in the Rotax Invitational and the Asia Max Challenge Series.

His Asian karting stints also paved the way for a rare invitation from Meritus GP president Peter Thompson, organizer of the Asia Cup, to join as the team’s new recruit and the youngest Filipino at 15 to drive a Formula car in the prestigious Formula BMW Series.

Likewise, the Asian Karting Open Championships always squeezed out the best from the Grade 10 Makati Hope Christian School. This time saw Cabrera achieve a near-impossible victory – rising from an unfamiliar situation coming from behind.

The consolidated results of the three qualifying heats put him third for the pre-final race behind polesitting Vrei-AR Suba and No. 2 man Michael Jordan in the Shifter KZ class.

As Cabrera perennially takes the pole in the past races, the unfamiliar scenario may likely leave him with bleak chances of redeeming himself against the two more experienced rivals.

Saving the best for last, he surprisingly managed to muster enough courage and determination to buck the odds and lead the country’s sweep of all the titles.