MANILA, Philippines - Castrol-Yokohama champion driver Iñigo Anton figured in a three-man crash, enabling rival Filipino karter Joaquin Garrido to snatch victory in the tumultuous third round of the Asian Karting Open Championship at the Bira Circuit in Bangkok, Thailand recently.
Anton, on board his WorksBell-Kart Plaza set-up kart, started the final heat on the front row and quickly took the lead from Austrian Constantin Reisch who started in pole position. But Reisch drove past the Filipino in the third lap with Thai champion Ananthorn Tangnainnatchai in tow.
The troika switched places in the next three laps in a thrilling duel until the Thai made a bold move and tried to overtake Reisch from the inside, resulting in a collision, with the Austrian going into a wild spin.
Anton, then trailing the duo at a close distance, rammed into Reisch at full speed and crashed into the barriers of the main straight.
The Filipino bet suffered bruises on both legs and damaged his kart’s steering assembly but gallantly fought back to finish the race, limping to fourth place after Tangnainnatchai was black-flagged and disqualified for the accident.
Garrido, who was then running fourth, took advantage of the crash and took top honors. Garrido’s camp also protested Anton’s team for having their mechanic fix Anton’s kart outside the designated area after the crash, leading to the disqualification of Anton for the final heat.
From leading the race in the Asian championship, Anton, backed by Worksbell Japan, Mark Young Racing, Kilton, Autoshack, JSD Autosport, Special Stage, Sizzling Plate, Mohspeed, Edgesport and Fix Stop, now trails Garrido by nine points after the disqualification, making the final leg, set Dec. 12-13 in Macau, crucial for all the title contenders for the Asian Cadet plum.