John Dizon had high hopes when he first landed in Beijing for the Asian Karting Open Championship’s (AKOC) season opener last April 27/28. And why shouldn’t he? After all, he just won the ROK GP Cup in Palawan a few weeks ago. But things didn’t exactly go to plan as problems on his #212 Tony Kart prevented him from challenging some of the best karters in the region.
If the unfamiliarity of the new Red1 Karting Circuit, unpredictable weather, and low temperatures didn’t make things hard enough, John was only able to go out twice on Thursday due to logistical issues. His mechanics then spent all Friday to get his kart setup right, yet he was still a few tenths off to the fastest driver in Formula 125 Senior.
Nothing seem to have worked and John did everything he can in Qualifying to end up P17 out of 21 runners. He then wrapped up the heats on Saturday with 10th and two 13th place finishes.
Despite not being 100% confident with his kart, John put all his troubles behind him and simply focused on running a good race on Sunday. He made a decent start in the Finals and for once was able to enjoy a mid-pack battle. The #212 entry got as high up as P8 in the standings and John began to close in on the leaders. But the moment was short-lived when his kart began to slow down. It took every ounce of John’s strength to defend his position for 23 grueling laps where he eventually took the chequered flag in a hard-earned 12th.
John Dizon: “It’s really hard when there’s so much expected from you and not be able to deliver results. I tried my best, but things didn’t go our way in Beijing. Still I’d like to thank Mr. Johnny Tan and everyone at Kart Plaza Mfg., my mechanic Roy Cabuquid, and everyone who showed their support even if they couldn’t come with me to China. Rest assured, I’ll be back fighting in the next round at Macau.”
John Dizon and JD Motorsports is supported by Buzz Corporation, Kart Plaza Manufacturing Corp., MD Consultancy Services, MD Design Studio, Obengers, Pink Pengin Ph, RZQ, and VIP Suite.
[Photos courtesy of Asian Karting Open Championship]
