RAW TALENT just needs the proper support and backing. This is the philosophy of motorbike racing team Mackyworx/Petronas, which is bent on searching out up-and-coming riders in the region and helping them to reach their potential.
According to team owner, Chris Nino Macapaz, the Visayas can go toe-to-toe with the talent of the big cities especially in Manila. What is lacking is the support and this is where Mackyworx and Petronas comes in.
“We have a lot of talented riders here, especially in Danao. What is lacking is just the support and hopefully, we can help them enough to reach their goals especially in motoracing,” said Macapaz in an interview last week.
One such recipient is Danao-native, 22-year-old Marcelino Batulan Jr., who has started from the bottom but has now moved up the ranks and culminated that run with his first place finish in the novice division in the 2nd leg of the 2012 RUGP Circuit held at the Kart Zone.
In that race, he also managed to defy the odds as he finished in third place in the elite intermediate expert division. The previous year, he was second overall in the beginner’s class of the 2011 RUGP.
Macapaz said that the team was built to discover young and talented riders who don’t have the capacity to join the sport and showcase their skills. The team started last year with two motorbikes but has since added two more to their fleet.
“We started by providing them with the equipment and food and of course, the experience that we share with them,” he added. It wasn’t before long that Petronas took notice of the team and offered their full support. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio