MANILA, Philippines — Rising Cebuano kart racer William John Riley Go saved his best for last in the rain-halted Round 6 of the X30 Southeast Asian Series over the weekend at the Bira Kart Circuit in Pattaya, Thailand.
The10-year-old Go began the six-round series running fourth in the Cadet Class at the KF1 Karting Circuit in Singapore, before dropping to 15th during the second round at the Sepang International Kart Circuit in Sepang, Malaysia.
The Piers Sexton Racing (PSR) mainstay missed the third round also at the Pattaya Circuit, but recovered from his ”worst” finish during the second leg by grabbing fourth spot in Round 4 back at Sepang and third in penultimate stop late last month at the Shah Alam International Kart Circuit in Shah Alam, Malaysia.
But knowing he had to end campaign in the international circuit with a bang, Go drove aggressively from the qualifying round up to the final battle, unmindful of the wet and slippery track.
Due to heavy rain, however, the race was stopped with three laps left. But with more than 75 percent of the race done, Go was declared champion as he was way ahead of his opponents.
The championship win in the final round catapulted Go to third place overall in a field of 27 karters and despite missing one round of the series.
“That is a mark of a champion racer – when you always strive to become a better version of yourself. He could have quit, what with the rain and all, but he still went all out for the win. That kid out there is special,” said Go’s trainer-coach Piers Sexton.
Go’s teammate Eduardo Coseteng was likewise triumphant after winning the seniors’ division title.
Coseteng of PSR/Petron started in pole 3 in the final race and ruled the final heat among 24 competing karters under the rain. He immediately seized second position as the red lights went off and stole the show from his teammate Dick Yu with few remaining laps.
For final results, visit http://www.x30sea.com/results.