Escalante cops novice crown

Manila, Philippines - Basti Escalante staged a big comeback to cop the Formula SL Novice crown in the second leg of the National Karting Super Series at the Batangas Racing Circuit recently.

Escalante finished second overall in the combined novice and expert races, clocking 14 minutes, 29.881 seconds over 10 laps to better his seventh place effort in the kickoff leg last month.

The incoming De La Salle Grade 7 student, from Tuason Racing School Racing Career Management Program (TRS-RCM), rallied from as far as 10th, squeezing in the middle of the pack then moving one spot higher after another.

Putting the lessons learned from the TRS Career Management Program (TRS-CMP) into action, Escalante bested other Expert drivers with the big support of TRS, Castrol, OMP, Oakley, Discovery Suites, Belo Men, Toptul, C! Magazine, and his individual sponsors Audi, Transnational Diversified Group, Werdenberg International Corp., Bridgestone, Puma, Coke Zero, Bank of Commerce, Emcor, KServico, Washington Watches and The Philippine STAR.

Escalante actually finished second overall in the combined Novice and Expert race, clocking 14:29.881 in the 10-lap encounter, far better than his seventh place finish in the kickoff leg last month.

Following the collision between first leg winner Sacha Feliciano and Jaz Monzones, Escalante quickly surged ahead with the second fastest laptime of 1:25.989 as he stayed close behind the frontrunner the rest of the way.

“Now I understand why coach (JP Tuason) wants me to push my limits. It looks far from possible at the start but it did work for me. I learned that even though you’re at the tailend, determination and hardwork can do a lot of wonders,” said Escalante.

 The TRS-Racing Career Management Program is aimed at helping young racers achieve a successful career path in motorsports. Multi-disciplined racers and champions JP and Mike Tuason designed the said program patterned after the training program of Formula One drivers to fast track the development and training of young potentials into champion racers.

For further details on the TRS-Racing Career Management Program, interested parties may email [email protected] or visit http://www.tuasonracing.com/ or call 817.7795 for inquiries.