Less than a second separated Ryan Sy from a podium finish when the Inf1nity IAME Series Asia staged its second event of 2024 over the weekend. As this was the Filipino karter’s second visit to the Bira International Karting Circuit in a month’s time, he used his fresh learnings from the track to finish just one spot away from 3rd place.
In field of 12 very competitive Junior entries, Ryan was up against karters who are more well-acquainted with the 1.290 km track in Thailand. While this put him at a slight disadvantage, he had help from local team SIMON Racing who sorted out his engine tuning and chassis setup. Ryan eventually soldiered on and finished the Time Trials in an impressive 6th with a best lap just 0.381 secs off pole.
The 14-year-old looked to improve on his position during the Qualifying Heats, but noted that he would somehow lose ground in the opening stages. Ryan was baffled how several karters were able to brake later and hug corners tighter for 2 or 3 laps and open up a gap. After that, their pace returned to normal leaving Ryan to play catch up. Although he lost several places at the start, the Formula E Racing Management driver managed to claw his way back up the standings and gain a spot at the end of the race to finish both Heats in 5th.
As the team had only one X30 engine, they had to be conservative in terms of tuning. Compared to other karters who had spares, they couldn’t run the risk of blowing the engine up especially heading into the 18-lap Super Heat and 20-lap Finals. With guidance from team coach Elson Carpio, this forced Ryan to rely solely on his driving to deliver a strong result.
With stakes running high, Ryan had to drive with his elbows out on Sunday. Surviving 18-laps under intense heat also did not make it any easier. Starting from P5, the lone Filipino on the grid was able to gain a place early on and slotted into P4. The top 4 then gradually broke away from the pack with Ryan locked in a battle for 2nd. Unable to find a way past, he settled for 4th as the chequered flag dropped and finished with a 1.419 secs gap to 3rd.
Ryan got squeezed at the start of the all-important Finals and ended up in P6. With several battles brewing in front of him, he opted to keep safe, but still stay within striking distance. The opportunity eventually opened up when a number of karters made contact and allowed Ryan to take P4. He then got his head down to hunt for a spot on the podium, gradually closing the gap to Rafael Kamal from Indonesia in P3. Ryan was able to get within 0.943 secs of Kamal, but ran out of laps to secure 4th place across the finish line.
Ryan Sy: “Good to have made a lot of progress on my second race at Bira and finish ahead of more experienced karters. I fought hard all weekend, pushed through the intense heat, and consistently got faster and better at every session. Still, I feel some regret for not making it onto the podium in the Finals, but it’s something I’ll be looking forward to at the next race.”
Ryan Sy is supported by Formula E Racing Management in collaboration with PCRC, Motul Philippine Distributor – Infiniteserv Int’l, BELL, Domuschola International School, Max888, and Wraptech.
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