Bianca Bustamante blazes from way off to capture AKOC junior title

MANILA, Philippines — Reigning Asian champion Bianca Bustamante fought back from way off the front to steal the junior title in the third round of the 2019 Asian Karting Open Championships (AKOC) sponsored by Petron at Clark International Speedway’s kart track in Pampanga recently.

Unruffled by a minor collision in the pre-final where she wound up sixth, the 14-year-old from Assumption College reeled in one after the other all the five entries ahead of her on the starting grid of the 21-lap final to prevail in 17 minutes and 14.477 seconds. She triumphed by 1.482 seconds over Hong Kong’s Haydn Ching, with China’s Anderson Ke another 0.384 of a second farther adrift in third.

Miguel Quinones came in fourth, 1.972 seconds off the pace, with Chinese entry Philipp Gogollok rounding out the Formula 125 Junior podium finishers. Bustamante, Ke, Quinones and Korean Junho Kim finished in that order among karters with the predominant X30 engines.

Bustamante’s victory put to the shade the triumph of Japanese ace Ayato Iwasaki, who topped the 25-lap F-120 Senior race in 19:56.923, a big 5.859 seconds ahead of Filipino spearhead and Petron Karting Academy mentor John Dizon.

Iwasaki, a 14-year-old from Kitakasuyaoka in Ibaraki prefecture, was joined on the podium by compatriot Souryu Tagami, who landed third 15.815 seconds behind; Michael Zhang of China and Jennifer Tumambing, who clinched fourth in the X30 Senior class, ahead of Wayne Norman Darvin.

Another Japanese, Yasuhiro Imatani, wound up ninth in the combined race but took the Master’s title over Ron Catindig and China’s Yu Songtao. Yu, the 11th placer overall, settled for the Veterans crown over Rommel Herce, Jericke Holganza and Japan’s Takeshi Niishida.