7-year-old Max Trinidad has now had 2 successful outings on only his first year in Cadets. After spending 2 seasons in Bambino, he finally moved up a class and secured back-to-back podiums on the opening rounds of the IAME Series Philippines 2024.
Max has been karting since he was 5 and was a podium mainstay in the Bambino Class. Under the care of Team BRE, he consistently finished in the Top 3 positions. His added height and weight, however, did prove to be a challenge as competed against smaller and lighter karters. But he later found a way around his 4 kg handicap and stay competitive.
His first podium finish of the year came during the season opener last March 23/24 at the Pampanga International Circuit. Although he had very little practice on his new #130 Praga kart, it only took Max several practice sessions on Saturday to get on pace. He gradually improved on his finishing position during the Heats to end up 3rd in Heat 3. Another 3rd place finish in the Pre Finals then gave him added confidence heading into the 9-lap Finals. There, the battle for P2 spot lasted all the way to the chequered flag. Max skillfully kept his closest competitor at bay to eventually cross the line just 0.223 secs ahead and secure the 2nd step on the podium on his Cadet debut.
Max was back on track just 3 weeks later for Round 2 of the 2024 calendar. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as smoothly as he had hoped. He suffered a DNF in Heat 1 after spinning out and couldn’t rejoin the race. Things was even worse in Heat 2 when he failed to make it to the start due to an engine issue. But eventually, the team managed to get things sorted in time for Heat 3 where he finished 4th and improved on his previous personal best lap by almost a second.
The same engine problem came back to haunt Max during the Pre-Finals and forced him into another DNF. Thankfully, he enjoyed a trouble-free run to complete 10-laps in the Finals and land on the podium in 3rd.
After back-to-back podium finishes, Max now has his eyes set on Round 3 happening on May 18/19.
