15-year-old Ethan Ong emerged as one of the early front-runners during the Rotax Max Challenge (RMC) Asia Trophy’s third event over the weekend. Sadly, despite showing so much promise, the Senior karter was unable to convert his strong performance into a hoped-for podium finish in Langkawi, Malaysia.
With very few events running at the Morac Adventure Park, it put all karters on a level playing field as no single competitor could benefit from having more track time and familiarity on the 1.3 km circuit. It also helped that Ethan was able to adapt fast to Langkawi’s big high speed layout, further aided by his extensive physical training program back home. This ultimately allowed him to set a high benchmark by setting the 3rd fastest time in Qualifying and was only 0.032 secs slower than fellow countryman Miguel Quiñones.
Driving the #375 kart of Stratos Motorsport, Ethan got off to a clean start in the Qualifying Heat and settled into P5 after the opening laps. He then found his rhythm and maintained position ’til the chequered flag dropped to secure 5th place.
The Pre Finals was almost a repeat for the Filipino karter. He lost several places at the start, but quickly regained the positions after only a few laps. Although it was a long race, the front-running karters were so evenly matched that Ethan couldn’t close the gap enough and make a move. This left him to settle for another solid 5th place across the line.
Given his performance so far, Ethan had a clear understanding that he had the pace to challenge for a podium and the 17-lap Final would be his last shot. He again found himself in P5 and was lapping faster than Indonesian Krish Gupta up ahead. Ethan began to reel in Gupta and got the gap down to as little as 0.246 secs. But as soon as he got within striking distance, tragedy struck. His #375 kart suffered an electrical problem and lost speed at the top end. This robbed him almost a second per lap and now had to defend his position. There was very little he could do and in the end, he concluded the Finals in a hard-fought 7th place.
Although it was another race weekend filled with “what ifs,” Ethan was able to prove that he can challenge at the front. He’ll get his chance to prove himself when the RMC Asia Trophy heads back to the Bira Kart Circuit in Thailand on August ¾ for Round 4 of the 2024 calendar.
Ethan Ong: “This has been one of my better performances so far, being able to fight at the front and log consistent, quick laps. Even though I’m a bit frustrated with what happened in the Finals, I still had an amazing race weekend overall. I improved and learned a lot more, and now I’m really looking forward to the next race in Bira.”
Ethan Ong is sponsored by Auto Vault Speed Shop the distributor of Modesta Premium Glass Coatings, Autozkin Paint Protection, Repsol Philippines, Powel Chemicals, Fremuff, GT Radial, D1 Spec, Maxspeed, Hardrace, ASR, Recaro, Tagaytay Viewpark Hotel, Siglo Modern Filipino, JRJ Windows and Doors, Pierre’s Reserve, and Devil’s Burger.
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