Cebuano karting prodigy William Go returns to Europe for tougher mission

CEBU, Philippines —  New year, new mission for Cebuano karting prodigy William John Riley Go.

Raising the bar of his racing skills higher after a marvelous 2022 campaign, the 14-year-old Go will embark on a tougher challenge in pursuit of his dreams to become a Formula 1 driver someday.

Go, the first Filipino world champion in the Super ROK category during the South Garda Karting ROK Super Finals in Lonato, Italy last year, will return to Europe next week where a busy schedule looms ahead of him.

This time in a higher level, the OK class.

“My plan is to race in the OK category,” said Go in a send-off press conference at the Raddison Blu Hotel last Thursday. “It’s a little bit harder because I will be racing against 18 years olds now and the best of the best. They’re factory drivers and these guys are like four-time, five-time world champions in karting and they have had some test days in Formula 4.”

Go, the first Filipino to collect three overall crowns in Asia for one season in 2019, said he plans to see action in the WSK Series, which has a number of races on its calendar starting with the Champion’s Cup on January 26 in Lonato, Italy, the very same place where he got his first world championship.

He also sets his sights on the FIA European and World Championships, the RGMMC Group’s Euro Series, which is the Champions of the Future, and the Winter Cup 2023 among others.

“For 2023, I want to capitalize on what I did last year. From the win in the ROK Cup Super Finals race to the WSK and FIA academy podiums, I want to do better so I can hopefully bring pride to the Philippines in the world of motorsports,” said Go, who was recently feted at the Golden Wheel Awards in Manila for his string of remarkable performances that included a silver-medal finish at the 2022 FIA Karting Academy in Genk, Belgium and a third-place trophy at the WSK Euro Series in Lombardia, Italy.

More than reaping honors, the decorated karter also looks forward to training in the more competitive Formula 4. It’s an entry-level for young drivers that bridges the gap between karting and F3 and eventually for Formula 2 and ultimately, Formula 1.

Lawyer Jess Garcia, the first Cebuano to clinch a national title in karting back in 1999 who co-owns the only karting track in Cebu (Kartzone), feels that going into F4 is the next logical step for Go.

“The path to Formula 1 is always through karting because it is in karting that you learn the basics of race car driving,” said Garcia, who personally witnessed Go’s historic triumph in Italy. “And at the level that William is right now, the next logical step really is Formula 4. That’s the good idea to do this year.”

Edgen Dy-Liacco, Go’s first coach, echoed Garcia’s sentiments.

“Formula 4 at his age, turning 15 (this summer), perfect. This year doing the sim (simulations) and doing some Formula 4 tests will help him for next year. Kasi if you start training for Formula 4 next year, it will be too late  if the idea is to get to Formula 1. Formula 1 is masikip rin, but with William, it’s not impossible because he’s already a world champion. There is a big possibility that he can go up further in the ladder,” said Liacco.

Go may still be relatively young but he already has big aspirations not only for himself, his family, and his team, but also for God and his beloved homeland.

“I don’t just do it for myself, I do it for my country, the Philippines. And I always do it for the team because I’m not just myself. I’m also working with a team, I’m working with a mechanic, with a coach, with a team boss and the people around me, that keeps me going and that’s the reason why I wanna win,”  Go said.

And when times get rough and he needs a motivation to hold on, Go only needs to look at the back of his helmet where the three inspiring words from his mother are inscribed on it since the very start of his racing career back in 2015 - “WILL TO WIN”. - Caecent No-Ot Magsumbol