“Winning as Usual” seems to be the mode of success output for the young cadet kart racer Franco Patawaran of the Mercedes Young Driver Development. In the recent ROKGP Cup Philippine Series, Rounds 5 and 6 became mainly an exception despite the gallant efforts of his team of mechanics to tune and set up the assigned engine that was given to him by the organizers. Right from the official practice and on the way to the time trial, 8-year-old Franco could only manage to clock in P7, a far cry from his usual top 5 finishes in previous races.
In the qualifying heats on Saturday (August 19, 2023), both heats for Franco were uneventful as he could only annex minimum points due to an alleged lack of engine power which relegated him to the back of the grid in the run-up to the Finals. Known for his cool and finesse but fast style of driving, Franco soldiered on believing that he could master one final push for Saturday Finals but luck did not go his way, After several laps, his engine stalled and he was forced to stop and be pulled off-track until the race is done for the safety truck to extract him and his kart.
The following day, Sunday (August 20, 2023), was Round 6 and a new day was an opportunity for racer Franco to recover points lost in the previous round. An emergency change of engine was decided for him to go on participating. With all the help from his hardworking team mechanics. the new engine was set up and tuned for him but the lack of ample time to break in and hone the new power unit was another handicap in the making for Franco. He only placed P7 for the time trial, almost 3 seconds off the frontrunner’s best time of the eventual Champion Yuan Gavin Bugayong. In the 1st Qualifying Heat, Franco managed to improve to 6th overall out of 9 racers despite the lack of pace and was lagging behind the points leader by almost a 10-second gap. Compounding his problem was when he was meted with a start corridor violation giving him a 3-second penalty thus he finished last at P9 with almost 14 seconds gap from the Champion. It was a heart-wrenching moment for the young kid racer who initially found new hope in the 1st heat only to falter anew in the second heat prior to the Finals.
With all the handicaps and challenges faced by the young kid Racer in the race weekend and knowing that his double-entry points for Cadet Novice and Clubman are now in peril, Franco has no choice but to go for survival mode. With the unreliable engine he has, he needs to choose whether he go for broke or conserve to just finish the race. The silent warrior spirit in him made him decide to do calculated risk by going fast and in attack mode on turns and exercising prudence on straights via good line defense driving. The strategy paid off as he was able to finish in 5th position to net him two runner-up trophies and it was a surprise for everybody including his parents who were just hoping for him to finish the race safe and sound.
The race tournament shifts back from Clark International Speedway to Carmona Racing Circuit where the great Franco is expected to dominate the championship fight again in time for the determination of final points for the Karter of the Year award.
Racer Franco Patawaran of Mercedes Young Driver Development team is also supported by major electric racetracks in the Philippines such as MadKart and Drift Motor Speedway. In part, he is also listed as one of the pool of racers that is supported (by Axel Motorsports-RacersPH-Alaska-Pocari initiatives) who are being honed to race in electric kart competitions locally and internationally in the near future.
Leave a Reply