Bianca shows promise as karting's next queen

MANILA, Philippines - Newcomer Bianca Luzung Bustamante showed big potentials as the country’s future karting queen when she bagged the Formula Cadet Novice second runner-up honors in the third leg of the 2012 Asian Karting Open Championship series recently at the Carmona Racetrack.

Bianca, seven-year-old daughter of former karter and now US-based Raymund Bustamante, totally had no racing experience when she debuted in the Enchanted Kingdom race two weeks ago.

Raymund Bustamante, who also made his mark in the US as a former Northern California Master Division champion in a karting series at the Infineon Raceway California, confidently picked Industria Racing head coach Elson Carpio to provide Bianca with a good racing foundation.

Raymund personally knew Carpio, who recently launched his Formula E Racing Management, and his credibility as a professional coach, chief mechanic and race engineer. Carpio was the mentor of Tyson Sy and Javi Benitez who were then the top karters during Raymund Bustamante’s active racing years on local soil.

At present, he’s the man responsible behind the big transformation of CJ Tsui into a top title contender this season.

In just a short span since her first race, Bianca surprised fellow drivers, mechanics and parents with her big improvement, clocking same lap times as her more experienced Cadet Novice rivals and Cadet Expert karters in the combined race.

She was sixth in the qualifying time trials, clocking 54.621 seconds for sixth in the 12-man combined qualifying heat. After finishing ninth overall in the pre-final, she really pushed her limits to pull off a big finish in the Cadet Novice division.

Carpio said Bustamante’s local stint is just part her preparations for a series of karting races her dad planned for her.

“Undeniably, Bianca is a big potential having racing genes in her blood. But I should commend her more for her determination and racing discipline which were far more exemplary than other kids under my helm before,” said Carpio

Seeing her overwhelmed by the degree of competition in her first race at Enchanted Kingdom, Carpio first worked on building her confidence and earned her trust to go through a fast-track program.

“She impressed me a lot. No one of her age can endure such a fast-track program going through hard training and more practice sessions in just a short time. Bianca had no qualms, responding well to the strict training as she took note of every detail of the lessons I gave her. And she personally proved the results of her hard work,” Carpio said.

“In my years in Philippine motorsports, I’ve never seen a young kid of her age achieve such fast progression. She’s so determined, even pushing herself beyond her limits to achieve what she wants. And that makes her a true future champion material,” he added.