GW Driver of the Year Miguel Quiñones bids for a Three-Peat Title in the ROK GP Cup Philippines
The reigning Philippine Karter of the Year Miguel Quiñones started his campaign for three-year consecutive National Karting titles last Saturday and Sunday, March 25 and 26, 2023 in a doubleheader when he competed at the ROK GP Cup Philippines held in Carmona Racing Circuit, Cavite.
Defending Champion Miguel who is called "The Assassin" on-track trained early to prepare well for the upcoming tournaments slated for this year. One major decision he made this year is to use the Parolin Brand of chassis. The Parolin kart chassis which is a popular brand among the Champions competing overseas is relatively new in the country where the brand Tony Kart is the prevalent chassis of choice among the local Karters.
In the actual competitions held last weekend, Miguel of DRQ Motorsports team executed a good Round 1 time trial performance netting him a good 3rd place position en route to the Qualifying Heats. One noticeable occurrence in the time trial is how a new racer entry by the name of Bern Corpino of Bern Corpino Racing (BCR) topped the preliminaries with a 1st-place grid position beating the veterans in the Senior Expert Class that includes Miguel and last year's runner-up Gabriel Carag. Karting fans can well remember that Bern Corpino who was called "The Sparks" last year on-track is the reigning Junior Karter of the Year who swept his last 5 rounds of races in 2022 to achieve his Junior title feat.
A veteran karter like Miguel (kart # 45) who is known for his finesse, clean, and good demeanor style of driving, is expected to adjust well in each heat which he normally dominated based on his track record last year. In heat 1, Miguel managed to finish 4th. He improved to 2nd position in Heat 2 when Heat 1-P1 Bern Corpino (Kart #19) suffered an engine problem and was not able to finish (DNF). In the Finals, Corpino eventually finished 1st in a come-from-behind hot pursuit while Miguel settled for 2nd.
In Round 2 of the following day, things got worse for Miguel when he finished 8th in the Time Trial but his veteran moves helped him to gain places by notching 5th in Qualifying heat 1 and improving to 4th in heat 2. During the Finals, skirmishes in the dreaded first turn caused Miguel to slide back but eventually recovered to finish 4th in podium places behind the over-achieving Corpino. For the current Overall Points standings, Miguel nevertheless is in 3rd place.
For Round 3 and onwards, it was reported that Miguel Quiñones may opt to use his reliable Tony kart and fans are raring to watch again the defending champion strut his stuff that will bring more excitement and challenges to the racetrack once the series resumes. The venue and dates will be officially announced soon.
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