With his super smooth driving, Iñigo Anton blitz through the 2024 Taipei International Gymkhana Prize (TIGP) event last April 20/21 to proudly take the Philippines onto to podium. He represented the country, through the banner of the Automobile Association Philippines (AAP), and secured 3rd in the Male Solo division against 50 of the top gymkhana drivers in the world.
In an event organized by Chinese Taipei Motor Sports (CTMS), representatives from 16 different countries vied for the top prize in four categories: Male Solo, Female Solo, Male Double, and Mixed Double. Aside from the solo division, Iñigo also competed in the Male Double class alongside fellow Filipino slalom champion Paul Base. Christine Torres, on the other hand, raced the flag in the Female Solo category.
Iñigo was off to a great start by setting the fastest time during Official Practice. This demonstrated how quickly he can adapt to a new course driving the event-spec car which was a Toyota Corolla Altis GR-S. The 19-year-old then maintained this momentum into Qualifying where he finished 3rd out of 33 drivers after an intense battle against Vietnam’s Hoang Duc Pham and Indonesia’s Benedictus Anjasara Wahyu who both ended in front of Iñigo.
His results in Qualifying gave Iñigo a confidence boost heading into the Knockout Round. Here, competitors are only given one run each and those who end up at the bottom half of the time sheets faced elimination. Mirroring his previous performances, Iñigo was once again at the sharp end of the field in the Top 16 round. He later set the 4th fastest time in the Top 8 to advance into the Final 4.
Iñigo had to pull all the stops for a shot at the win in the Finals. Unfortunately, this went for naught after he hit a cone maneuvering around a tight chicane, thus earning him a 2-second penalty on his final run yet was still good enough to secure 3rd for the Philippines.
“It was all or nothing on my last run so my dad and I decided to go for broke and at least go down swinging if we did not make it. Luckily, we still beat Vietnam who also put it all on the line,” shared Iñigo after the Finals.
Nevertheless, Iñigo was happy to score a podium at the event. “My dad also finished 3rd here 19 years ago during the inaugural event so I am grateful to the Automobile Association Philippines for trusting us to carry the flag and hopefully, we made the Philippines proud,” he added.
As for the Male Double category, Iñigo and Paul Base ended up in an impressive 5th overall out of 16 participating countries, missing out on the Final 4 by a mere 0.282 secs. Meanwhile, he and lady driver Christine Torres finished a respectable 9th in the Mixed Doubles event in their first pairing as a team.
Worth noting is that Iñigo’s performance was enough to impress CMTS President President Dr. Kwong Wing Yeung, as he was quoted saying, “As the youngest driver in the field, Iñigo’s skill and determination made him a standout worth watching. Like father, like son! The Anton’s embody a legacy of excellence and dedication in the world of auto gymkhana.”
