After securing the Cadet championship in 2022, Kraige Berdos moved up to MiniRok last year and impressed on his debut season. The 11-year-old skipped the Novice Class completely and took the Expert karters head on. He then exceeded all expectations to deliver 3 wins and 2 podiums to receive the 2023 MiniRok Karter of the Year perpetual trophy at the 21st Golden Wheel Awards (GWA).
Kraige was one-half of the GTB Motorsports x Mercedes Young Driver Development Philippines’ (YDDP) 1-2 punch in the MiniRok Expert category, sharing wins with his teammate and 3-time MiniRok champion Axel Nocom. Together, the duo took the team to the Expert Class podium on all 8 rounds in the 2023 calendar. Team strategy also helped fellow Mercedes YDDP karters Lucas Aldave and Reign Alojado achieve success in MiniRok Novice to finish the championship in 1st and 3rd respectively.
Trailing behind Axel for the first 6 rounds in points, Kraige slowly chipped away at his teammate’s lead until an opportunity opened up on the penultimate event of the year. Despite crossing the finish line 4th in the Finals, a sudden post-race inspection saw several drivers get disqualified promoting Kraige up the standings. A dominant run during the season finale at the Carmona Race Track further solidified his points lead, earning him the title as MiniRok Expert Class Champion.
With a new racing calendar just around the corner, Kraige aims to repeat his success in MiniRok Expert and win the title back-to-back. But the newly-crowned champion will also serve another duty within the Mercedes YDDP camp. Sharing his knowledge and experience, expect the young talent to help train and guide his teammates as they work in tandem on track and score victories.
His dad Kad Berdos, expresses their gratitude by sharing “We would like to thank Mike and Aileen Nocom for welcoming us in the team 2 years ago when we were just starting out. Tuner Richard Peek was also instrumental in Kraige’s development as he was one of the first people who saw the potential in Kraige and guided his career. Of course, we’d like to show our appreciation to Ralph Parreno and Christian Dela Cruz who were Kraige’s mechanics.”
For more info and the latest updates, follow the Kraige – GTB Motorsports page on Facebook.
[Photos by Bong Boado]
