William Go waves checkered flag

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine karting may have found its next big star in William John Riley Tiu Go, whose string of victories in the past two weeks netted two Asian karting championships and possibly two more in November.

The 11-year-old Go bagged the overall cadet championship of the IAME Series Asia at the Sepang International Kart Circuit in Sepang, Malaysia last Sept. 15, topping 27 seasoned drivers from all over the world.

He followed this up with another championship last week, ruling the third leg of Asian Karting Open Championship (AKOC) at the Clark International Speedway in Angeles, Pampanga, where he swept all the races – from the qualifying time trial, qualifying heats 1 and 2, pre-final and final races. 

It was his third straight title in the mini-Rok category of the Asian tournament.

Go opened his Asian Karting Open bid with a victory at the Red 1 Karting Circuit in Beijing, China last April, before duplicating his feat at the Kartrodomo de Coloane, Macau last June.

On home ground last weekend, Go was even more aggressive as he swept all of his races to win the crown with a flourish.

“I had great races. Everything just fell into place and I thank God, my team and my parents for all the support,” said Go, a Grade 6 student of the St. Benedict Childhood Education Centre in Cebu City.

In the IAME series, Go captured the overall crown with 143 points in five races, shoving eventual second placer Timofey Mikhaylov (134 points) behind. Aditya Wibowo placed third.

During the final leg in Sepang, Go posted a total time of 13:42.118 in 12 laps with a best time of 1:07.812 to close out the racing series on a strong note.

The Cebuano karter isn’t done winning yet.