There is now a clear favorite at the top of the Junior points standings in the T4 Series Pilipinas. With a pair of dominant back-to-back wins at the Carmona Race Track (CRT), Ethan Cabiltes now has a 31 point lead as the 2024 season reaches its halfway mark.
The 12-year-old only pursued karting a year ago, yet already shows a lot promise with his performance on track. He inherits his passion for motorsports from his dad who is also a sports car enthusiast. And you can’t discount that there’s influence from family friend and ex-Asian Formula 3 driver Tyson Sy who helped get Ethan into karting.
Driving for PRIME BOLT Racing, Ethan’s race weekend actually got off to a rough start. A crash during Saturday Warm Up bent his #88 Tillotson kart and forced him to miss Qualifying. Thankfully, the team managed to find a spare and got it ready in time for Heat 1. Starting from the back of the grid, Ethan capitalized on other karters colliding or retiring that helped him shoot up the standings. He then timed his overtakes perfectly until he got into the the Junior Class lead at the end of 6 laps. It was just unfortunate that a drop bumper penalty relegated him to 2nd place. He again found himself in the lead fight in Heat 2, but this time he secured 1st place in a nail-biting photo finish and won by a mere 0.015 secs.
Ethan was caught out in the first corner pile up during Finals. Luckily, the race was red-flagged and allowed the PRIME BOLT Racing karter to retake his start position on pole. Despite a bent steering sustained during the crash, he kept his head down and pushed in all of the 9 laps, enjoying a lights-to-flag victory with a 1.795 secs lead.
Although he was only 0.325 secs off the fastest T4 Junior karter in Sunday Qualifying, Ethan ended up P6 in class showing just how tight the competition is. He fought his way up to P2 in Heat 1, but a another drop bumper penalty saw him officially classified in 5th. A strong comeback drive in Heat 2 got Ethan into a podium position after only a few laps. Then, an opportunity opened up on the very last lap to take the lead, earning him 1st across the line.
Starting the Sunday Finals from P3, Ethan took the lead in the opening stages of the race. He was later passed and dropped to P2 momentarily, but regained 1st place at the next corner and held position until the chequered flag dropped to secure another victory.
The T4 Series Pilipinas moves the Clark International Speedway (CIS) on the 27th to 28th of July for Rounds 5 and 6 of the 2024 season. Ethan will be aiming to repeat his back-to-back wins and further extend his points lead in his bid for the Junior Championship.
Ethan Cabiltes: “It was challenging to start from last on Saturday after I missed the Time Trials. But by God’s grace I was able to get better positions and win both Finals. This is one my strongest results and what helped me to win was my determination. Overall, I fell great thanks to my team, coaches, and mechanics.”
Ethan Cabiltes is supported by Oneway Autohaus and Donutification.
[Photos by Bong Boado]
