Fresh from his challenging victory under heavy rain at night, Ayrton Gono Atienza, who just turned 12 years old, has solidified his mark in Philippine motorsports. The boy, who races for the JVL/Autoplus Racing Team, recently claimed the Overall Championship title under the MiniROK XCS Category of the 2025 Petron Blaze 100 RMC Philippine Series.
As with the previous round, the event, which took place at the Clark International Speedway, was hounded by unpredictable weather. During the practice day, Atienza consistently registered lap times in the 52-second range, making him one of the top contenders ahead of the time trial sessions the next day.
The following day’s time trial events were greeted by the rain just as the lights turned green. This quickly made parts of the track slippery. As the other racers immediately changed their tires from dry slicks to wet weather tires, Atienza’s team took a risk by retaining his slick tires, under the assumption that the track would still be manageable.
The team’s gamble took a toll on Atienza as his time trial performance was heavily affected. As a result, the boy found himself at the back of the grid for the next day’s qualifying heats.
This setback didn’t stop Atienza during qualifying. In Heat 1, Atienza made a valiant effort by consistently taking positions right from the get-go. He registered a best lap time of 53.293, which placed him in third. In Heat 2, Atienza recorded a fifth-place earning lap time of 53.398, securing him a wide chance of clinching the lead early on in the next day’s main event.
During race day, Atienza quickly slotted himself in third place as he witnessed the battle ahead between race leader Matteo Caceres of C&C Motorsports and second runner Vincent Ardina of DRQ Motorsports. By lap 6, Caceres and Ardina came into contact, allowing Atienza to take the lead. The boy didn’t hold back from here until the finish line. In the end, Ayrton Atienza completed the 10-lap race in 10:29.553, averaging 1 minute for each lap. He also posted a best lap time of 53.37.
“I asked God for guidance when I was struggling. I didn’t want to be nervous. I told my mom I hoped it wouldn’t rain again like it did in the time trial. But deep down, I already had a plan. I studied the data, imagined every scenario. I carried it all in my head,” shared the young gun who became the overall champion on his birthday. A well-deserved gift. Congratulations!
