Driving the #67 KF Motorsport entry, Danzel Waytan faced a steep learning curve during his F110 Cup debut at Mobility Resort Motegi in Japan. The 18-year-old Filipino competed in a 17-car grid and delivered a best finish of 8th over the race weekend.
Danzel showed promising pace in Practice and Warm-up. Unfortunately, this did not translate during Saturday’s 15-minute Qualifying session, where it mattered most, leaving him P11 and 1.268 secs off pole.
Starting from way back in P11, Danzel made a strong launch and gain several positions early. By Lap 5, he had worked his way up to P8, but as the field spread out plus a few driver errors, overtaking opportunities became limited. He maintained position and crossed the line in a strong 8th, securing a solid finish on his single-seater debut.
Sunday brought improved pace in Qualifying after setup changes from the team. Although a small mistake cost him a few tenths, Danzel managed P8 on the grid, just 0.719 secs off pole.
Race 2 proved to be more challenging. A slow start dropped him to P9, but he quickly recovered and found himself in a tight battle for P5. His progress, however, was halted after sustaining front wing damage in the midfield fight. Losing more than half a second per lap, Danzel was forced into damage limitation mode, defending hard to hold position and eventually finishing 9th.
While the results may not fully reflect his true pace, the weekend provided valuable experience as Danzel transitions from touring cars to single-seaters. He and KF Motorsport look to build on this foundation as the F110 Cup resumes on May 16/17 at Okayama International Circuit.
Danzel Waytan: “Debuting in single-seaters is proving to be a tough challenge after driving touring cars for most of my career. Overall, the weekend wasn’t what I had hoped for, but we’ll take the positives. The potential and speed are there, especially considering my limited seat time compared to the other drivers. We’re only a few tenths off the front runners. Things definitely could have gone better, but we did what we could at the time.”
Danzel Waytan is sponsored by Gerry’s Grill, AZ Racing, and D Racing Simulators.
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