After spending only a year in the Senior Category, Ethan Ong is taking on much bigger things in the new year as he commences his 2024 campaign on foreign territory. He will be flying off to the Rotax Max Challenge (RMC) Asia Festival at the Sepang International Karting Circuit (SIKC) in a few week’s time and take on some of the best karters in the region.
The 15-year-old will run under the colors of Stratos Motorsports, which is a well-established karting outfit in Malaysia. Flying with him to the event are coach Edgen Dy-Liacco of EdgeSport and his supportive father and Ethanworx Motorsports team principal John Mark Ong.
Ethan made the jump to the Seniors division in the Rotax Max Challenge Philippines last year after making his mark in Juniors back in 2022. Although he struggled at first to adapt to the heavier kart weight limit, he quickly overcame this thanks to his quick learning curve and with help from continuous strength training. In the end he went on to score 2 podium finishes and conclude the season 3rd in the Senior Expert Class.
The decision to enter the prestigious event comes from Ethan’s eagerness to learn and improve his racecraft.
“The international game is a different game. Our goal is to be at par with our competitors as we expect to learn more,” Ethan expressed.
Aside from learning a new track, he will also be facing 30+ other karters in the Rotax 125 Senior Max category—all in the hopes of starting 2024 strong.
Shaping up to be one of the more illustrious karting festivals in the Southeast Asia region, organizer Amprex Racing Services, the regional distributor of Rotax kart engines, made sure to sign up as much participants as they can—with over 100 names listed so far as they all aim to earn a slot in the RMC Grand Finals coming during the year.
Ethan Ong is sponsored by Auto Vault Speed Shop the distributor of Modesta Premium Glass Coatings, Autozkin Paint Protection, Repsol Philippines, Powel Chemicals, Tagaytay Viewpark Hotel, Siglo Modern Filipino, JRJ Windows and Doors, Pierre’s Reserve, and Devil’s Burger.
For more info and updates, Like the Ethan Motorsports page on Facebook and follow @ethan.ong.racing on Instagram.
