Gono knocks on door of racing career

Gono shows the way at the turn.erwin dela cruz

Sen. JV Ejercito enjoying a light moment with celebrity racer Sam YG

MANILA, Philippines–Timid and unassuming. That’s how we described Luis Gono the first time we saw him. We observed he seldom talked and, unlike many others we knew, he was not in any way flashy, even though he came from a reputable family of racers and fully backed by San Miguel Corp. COO Ramon S. Ang, who primarily got him into his first competitive race in the Boomland leg of the 2012 Karting Super Series season.

But this humble and meek demeanor didn’t convince us he was shy because, as we looked into his eyes, we saw a passion for racing and something more that no one would probably ever guess because of his youth and inexperience.

This timid and unassuming behavior, and being one of the youngest entries in the 2014 Vios Cup, caused some to underrate Luis as a racing driver who would not be able to stand a chance against more experienced and seasoned rivals.

Unlike Basti Escalante, who had proven his racing skills as a highly-heralded former Mini ROK Karting champion, the young son of racing icon Carlos Gono didn’t leave any high-profile fanfare with his short karting stint, since he never completed a whole karting season and only joined six of the eight karting races in 2012.

But taking a second look at Luis’ chances, our research convinced us otherwise as records showed he missed the first two legs but won all the remaining six races and eventually emerged the SQ Novice champion at the end of the season.

Gono with the technical crew of mechanics and support staff. PHOTO BY AUGUST DELA CRUZ

This led us to believe that aside from the inherited champion racing genes, this kid is one thinking young driver who knew how to play with strategy in order to push for his title bid.

Our hunch was initially right. Even as Jason Choachuy and Allan Uy prevailed in the kickoff leg, Luis, although an underrated driver, uncorked a strong debut when he topped the time trials, clocking two minutes and 27.511 seconds, and finished runner-up and third place in the first two races, eventually winding up third behind the two winners in the points standings.

Nobody thought it was already a premonition of what kind of threat he could be, as Choachuy got more of the spotlight following his impressive sweep of Races 3 and 4 in Leg 2 while Luis delivered a consistent show by ending fourth and third to move up to second place overall.

The outcome of the first two legs left him in a precarious scenario, trailing Choachuy by 26 points and enjoying just a two-point advantage over Uy.

Resilience and strategy

Yellow and green were the colors of the day at the McKinley circuit.

But resilience and strategy paid big rewards as destiny wove a concoction of unexpected turn of events that eventually hailed Luis as the pioneer champion of Toyota Motor Philippines’ flagship event Vios Cup One Make Series.

“Winning the overall crown of the 2014 Vios Cup was totally unexpected,” Luis admitted. “To be honest, winning the championship didn’t really cross my mind as we entered the weekend. I was way too far from the points leader, and I believe that Allan Uy, who was close behind me in third place, has better chances, being a more proficient driver on street courses such as McKinley West,” he said.

“Well, it’s definitely a good feeling to win the Vios Cup, especially since it’s probably the biggest motoring event in the Philippines this year. Since my dad is very much known in the car scene in our country, for me, this Vios Cup gave me the first step in my goal not just to continue his passion for car racing but moreover fulfill the childhood dream to carry on his legacy in Philippine motorsports,” he added.

Aside from the prestige and distinction of winning the title, more importantly the Vios Cup provided the precious bonding moments that further strengthened their father-son relationship.

Team principal lawyer Reginaldo Oben with Basti Escalante of Toyota Otis

“The crown more than made up for all the hard work and sacrifices we went through. More importantly, it strengthened our bond as father and son. We really devoted a lot of time into practicing on the weekends and even on weekdays. During my summer vacation, we would sometimes spend up to four times a week practicing at Clark with my dad. We really had to do this because, before the Vios Cup, I didn’t really practice driving that much besides drifting which only required me shifting first to second gear. It’s a good feeling to have all the effort we put in to have not been wasted,” Luis said.

Luis felt big pressure going into the championship leg. He had never won a race and the best he had achieved in the first four races was a runner-up place. And trailing as many as 26 points made it a tougher scenario for a title quest.

“We were pressured especially because we wanted to maintain second place. We knew Allan was more experienced than me and he is very good at overtaking people. I wouldn’t say I was disappointed for not winning any race because I would always want to make sure that I will finish,” Luis said.

He added: “Pushing myself to do whatever it takes to win every time comes with bigger risks of getting into an accident and ruining my entire season. So I still stuck by my strategy to play things smartly because it was a street course, and I knew one mistake and my weekend and season would be over.

Aside from the joy of winning the overall title, the Vios Cup provided the precious bonding moments that further strengthened Luis Gono’s relationship with his father. PHOTO BY AUGUST DELA CRUZ

“I can say I was taking a more conservative route throughout the season. I also told myself to be patient because I expect a lot of other drivers could turn impatient and might just end up in a wall if they get it over their heads, that’s why I wanted to just drive very consistently.

“We were really hoping to end this season on a high note by winning the final races. It seemed far off that I would win the title however we believed that if all the odds were in our favor then we might win.”

And that’s exactly just what happened in the final leg. As Luis continued his consistent drive, the odds indeed turned to his favor as some of the top contenders saw their title hopes going up in smoke after figuring in unfortunate incidents.

Those behind in the points standing rose to the occasion and went up the title ladder. Pauland Dumlao of Toyota San Fernando swept the last two races for a successful giant leap from seventh place to an impressive overall runner-up crown, pushing Choachuy down to overall third, with Inaki Araneta and Dominic Ochoa in fourth and fifth overall.

Valuable lessons

The Vios Cup experience also taught Luis several valuable lessons that will equip him with better skills, stronger fighting spirit, a more solid determination, and substantial knowledge to push his racing goals and establish better camaraderie with fellow drivers in the motorsports community.

“This season was definitely a huge learning experience for me. Firstly, I learned that doing bad things really will not get you anywhere, as suck often results to bad luck.

“Second, racing is no different from other fields as there will be people who will support you while others who are cloaked to be your friend will be the one who will be stabbing you in the back and spreading rumors.

“Another thing I learned was that it is never over till it’s over. Going into the race and being pessimistic about things will get you nowhere. I realized that you really never know what will happen until it happens. Through the whole weekend, some incidents made me tell myself ‘it’s over’ until another development came along a few minutes later made me take back what I said. So it basically taught me that giving up is never an option,” Luis said.

All through the struggles and big challenges that confronted his title campaign, Luis expressed his deep gratitude to the people who helped him survive and gave him the needed push to capture the coveted plum.

He said: “There would be so many people who contributed to my victory that I don’t think I would be able to name them all but I would like to start with my dad because he is always there for me, even when I practice, to make sure everything would be taken care of and I won’t have to worry about anything.

“Next, I’d like to thank Mr. Cosco Oben, of course, for all the trust and support he has given me throughout the season to accomplish this milestone. I would also like to thank Mr. Jun Santos for always checking up on us and making sure that we have what we need in order to perform well. Thanks also to the whole team, Toyota North Edsa, for helping us out with our car troubles and spare parts.

“Also, I’d like to thank Mike Anton for helping us with practice, especially coming into this final leg, and for being with us at the track to give me advice; Marius for being there whenever we have a concern or if something is unclear to us; and our mechanics from Autoplus for always making sure the car is at 100 percent and that we will never have any problems with the car.

“I’d like to thank the various people at the racetrack who would talk to me and give me advice on how I should go about during the race: Roland Hermoso, Kent Sy, Tyson Sy, Richard Joson, Ivan Carapiet and Maui Santos.

“Thank you to Tuason Racing School, namely JP Tuason, for being a big part of this event by organizing it properly and making sure everything was on time and in order; Ferdinand Ong, because of all the help he gave me especially in telling me when there is a concern or change of rules; and Takeda-san and Reggie Sy for scrutinizing all the cars and making sure people will not cheat.

“Thank you also to the AAP for facilitating the races to be as orderly as possible, and trying to ensure gentlemanly driving. Thank you to all the sponsors for making this event possible: Bridgestone, Rota, Motul, Denso, Brembo, OMP, AVT and TRD.

“Thank you also to the people who started my racing career from karting, otherwise I wouldn’t be racing now; Mr. Ramon Ang for sponsoring me; the late Boy Ochoa for giving me all-out support in our karting days; Jody Coseteng for always teaching me how to improve and for telling me to be more aggressive on the track; and Edgen Dy-Liacco for coaching me and teaching me proper racing.

“Lastly, I would like to thank Toyota Motor Philippines for creating a wonderful event that brought back Philippine motorsports on the map and Mr. Sugata for thinking of envisioning and creating and event like this. Without him, I do not think anything like this would happen in the Philippines for a very long time.”