From a promising rookie to a dominant force on the grid, 9-year-old Ryle Almazora from Biñan City, Laguna, has quickly emerged as one of the rising young talents in Philippine karting. After winning the Cadet Novice Championship and Rookie Karter of the Year title in 2024, Ryle continued his upward trajectory this season by clinching the 2025 T4 Cadet Overall Championship during the finale at Carmona Race Track (CRT). Capping off his season, he also entered in MiniRok that same weekend — finishing an impressive 2nd place on his debut.
Racing under the Mercedes Driver Development and Axel Motorsports Gruppe, Ryle’s 2025 campaign has been nothing short of stellar. He opened the year with back-to-back 2nd-place finishes before going on a dominant five-round winning streak that effectively sealed the championship before the final race. With the title already secured, the season finale became a chance to cap off an outstanding year — and to test himself in MiniRok ahead of his full-time move in 2026.
However, the weekend’s schedule was disrupted by an incoming typhoon, forcing organizers to compress Qualifying and Heats into Saturday and leave only the Finals on Sunday. The tight turnaround proved exhausting for Ryle, who was competing in two categories with minimal rest between sessions.
In T4 Cadet, Ryle topped Qualifying to secure pole and converted it into a dominant win in Heat 1, finishing over four seconds clear of the field. He repeated the feat in Heat 2, this time under pressure, edging out his rivals by just 0.226 secs. When the rains came on Sunday, Ryle still charged ahead to lead the Finals by five seconds and was en route to victory — until water entered his engine, causing it to stall just two laps from the finish. He was eventually classified 4th overall, still more than enough to seal the T4 Cadet title with an incredible 176.5-point margin.
With this, Ryle is also expected to be recognized as the Cadet Karter of the Year at the upcoming Golden Wheel Awards.
Reflecting on the season, Ryle noted how much stronger the T4 Cadet field had become, with only a handful of points separating the top three by mid-year. His closest challengers were Percy Yongco and Zyan Lee, both from Cebu, who consistently pushed him to raise his game throughout the season.
Aside from his T4 Cadet success, Ryle also made his MiniRok debut. The team spent over three weeks testing, fine-tuning the engine and chassis setup, and helping Ryle build the physical strength required to handle the faster and more demanding kart. The hard work clearly paid off as he set pole position in his very first official Qualifying session, then finished a close 2nd in both Heat 1 and Heat 2.
Unfortunately, worsening weather conditions on Sunday led to the Finals being red-flagged, with the final results based on the Qualifying Heats. That confirmed Ryle’s 2nd place overall — an impressive achievement for the youngest driver on the grid. At just 9 years old, he proved that he’s more than ready to step up full time to MiniRok in 2026.
Ryle Almazora: “I felt really greatful and really happy because from Round 1 I was really nervous and by the end of the season, really happy to get the back-to-back Golden Wheel Award. All the mixed emotions this season and being really happy to be back-to-back rookie karter of the year and karter of the year. Thank you to my mechanics, kuya Mario, kuya Ralph, kuya Christian, kuya Albert and the rest of the AMG Grouppe for having the support and tito Mike and tito Aileen for the support. Thank you to my coaches who improved my racecraft throughout the season.”
Ryle Almazora is sponsored by by A2Z Customs, BCH Performance Car Care Center, DG Budget Hotel, Diamond Detail Carwash, Drift Motor Speedway, Four30gastrooub, Kaiser Dream Skin Cosmetics, Koby Motorcare, and Pregame Motorsports Merchandise, with the support of City of Biñan, Congressman Arman Dimaguila, Congresswoman Len Alonte, and Mayor Gel Alonte.
For updates and more info, follow the Ryle Almazora Racing page on Facebook.
[Photos by Enthusiast Media and N. Llagas Photography]
