RP's Juha Turalba rules Asian karting tilt

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV Fifteen-year-old Juha Turalba was the only Filipino in a tough field of 17 karters but he made sure he would end up No. 1 in the Indonesian leg of the 2009 Asian Karting Open Championship recently at the Sentul Kart Track in Bogor, Indonesia. Using a KF2 engine, Turalba topped the Formula 125 Seniors Open Class competitions, besting defending Asian champion Tin Sritarai of Thailand and other talented rivals from Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong. “Ako lang ang Pilipino sa category na yun and I really wanted to represent the Philippines. Pinakita ko talaga na magaling din ang Pilipino, na kahit mag-isa, pwede pa ring manalo," Turalba said in an interview with GMA News’ 24 Oras. A 10th grader at the International School-Manila, Turalba actually struggled in the early goings but swept he prefinal and final heats to pull off the victory. Turalba counted this win as his “sweetest" in five years of competing in the sport of karting, an endeavor which has already brought him to as far as Italy where he met his idol, seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher. “I feel proud for giving Filipinos the inspiration that we can definitely be competitive in the international motor-sport scene," he said. - GMANews.TV