Borne out of their passion for motorsports and belief that Filipinos have what it takes to conquer the international racing stage, esteemed motorsports racer and coach Elson Carpio and team principal Theo Zaragoza of Resultado Co. have formed the Formula E Racing Team, which they envision to give the Philippine go-kart industry the boost that it needs.
The team traces its roots from the Formula E Racing Management, established in 1999 by Carpio, and has produced some of the top go-karting champions in the country, such as Asian Formula 3 Champion Tyson Sy, Asian Karting Open Champion Javi Benitez, ROK GP Overall Champion CJ Tsui, Asian and National MINIROK Champion Hwarang Kim, and National MINIROK Champion Miguel Angeles.
In 2022, Carpio met Zaragoza, a former jet ski racer, private pilot, and motorcycling enthusiast, who wanted to learn competitive go-karting. When Zaragoza was under Carpio’s wings, the racing mentor was already contemplating retirement and had no plans of expanding the team.
However, Zaragoza saw that Carpio was not just a superb coach but also passionate about developing international go-kart champions.
With motorsports booming in the country, Zaragoza believed that losing a coach like Carpio would be a waste, prompting him to distill his coach’s vision and goals for the go-karting industry. Creating a foundation for a strong team made Carpio see potential in Zaragoza to be team principal, thereby formalizing their partnership in creating Formula E Racing Management as a team.
“Our mission is to create an environment that will put the Philippine go-kart industry on the map. We hone racers ready to take on the global arena and establish the country as a destination for international go-kart racing,” said Zaragoza, who was able to gather some of the best and up-and-coming karting racers in the country today.
“The plan is to dominate the local karting scene and win championships in Asia and beyond. We thank our major sponsors, Pacific Island Trading Inc. and Malayan Insurance, for supporting the team so we can do just that,” said Zaragoza. “We also want to welcome international racers to try our local circuits, so we can promote the country and increase local go-karting competitiveness.”
To achieve its mission, Formula E is set to change the game, such as creating developmental programs for its racers.
Fifteen-year-old Senior Category Expert Danzel Waytan captains the Formula E Racing Team, the Overall 1st Runner Up in the Junior Category of the 2021 EHPAF Karting Series, 2022 ROTAX Max Challenge, and 2022 ROK GP. Co-captain is 17-year-old Senior Novice racer Von Viray, the 2nd Runner Up, Intermediate Class in the 2022 ROTAX Max Challenge.
“We know camaraderie, shared knowledge, and healthy competition build teamwork. This is why we chose our captain and co-captain carefully. Even at their young age, Danzel and Von show maturity, level-headedness, and initiative to help their teammates succeed,” Zaragoza said. “We commend captain Danzel for going beyond his tasks of just being a good racer. He was planning to quit go-karting and join the Vios Cup by the end of 2022, but was approached by Formula E to lead its team as captain. Given the opportunity to be coached by Papa Els, Danzel agreed and made his comeback in go-karting.”
Other team members are Cadets 8-year-old Tino Zaragoza, 9-year-old Lucio Reyes, and 10-year-old Gia Chan; MINIROK 9-year-old Andretti Santos; Juniors 12-year-old Akhina Santos, 13-year-old Luis Segundo, and 13-year-old Ryan Sy; Senior Novice 16-year-old Mikel Fuentes; and Senior Expert 14-year-old Gabriel Chan.
The 45-year-old Senior Expert Zaragoza, the Overall 1st Runner Up, Master Category in the 2022 ROK GP and Overall 2nd Runner Up, Master Category in the 2022 ROTAX MAX Challenge, rounds out the 12-member team.