CALVIN CORDOVA

CEBU CITY ˗ Following a remarkable showing in 2022, multi-titled William John Riley Go wants more for his country, family, and team as he bids to make history in Philippine motorsports.

The 5-foot-7 Cebuano karter is bringing with him the confidence of a grizzled veteran as he leaves for Europe next week to train and compete in various tournaments there.

“For 2023, I want to capitalize on what I did last year. From the win in the ROK Cup Superfinal race, to the WSK and FIA academy podiums, I want to do better so I can hopefully bring pride to the Philippines in the world of motorsports,” Go said in a media event on Thursday, Jan. 5.

Go is only 14-years-old but he talks and thinks beyond his age. But on the race track, he was a daredevil kind of a karter.

In the eyes of veteran photographer Bong Boado, Go, was simply awesome.

Small wonder, Go became the first Filipino to make it to the podium a number of times in big-time races in Europe last year.

His impressive feats include a silver finish in the 2022 FIA Karting Academy in Genk, Belgium; a bronze in the WSK Euro Series in Lombardia, Italy; and a world title in Super ROK in Lonato, Italy.

 In the Super ROK, Go finished the 20-lap competition in 16 minutes and 12.687 seconds, beating 36 other racers from more than 10 countries. 

He was also awarded the Pole Position and the Fastest Lap under the Super ROK category.

 In every race, Go shared that he competes hard and aspire for a victory not just for personal glory.

“I just don’t do it for myself. I do it for my country, the Philippines. And I also do it for my team. Every time I wanna win, I don’t just think of myself. Always, I want to put the country on top, to put more support, steps to world championships,” he said.

Go started competing at seven years old and back then, he had to beg to his parents to allow him to try the sport.

“My school is just right across the racetrack so I would hear the karts around. I was like “please I wanna go out so badly” and yeah, I never thought of becoming a world champion or even a champion at any way. Never thought of it,” Go said.

Go has undoubtedly made a name for himself in the karting world but the road to glory was never easy.

Boado disclosed that Go had to overcome adversities and challenges, including bullying. 

He said there were instances when Go’s opponents would gang up on him for him not to win.

“There are six or seven drivers in one team alone, and their goal was to try to at least to put me in the bad spot so I would crash in the race. So in one year, I had to replace my cart four or five times because of the amount of crashes that I was in and them taking me out intentionally. Even the kids would say we will crash you out. At one point I would ask my dad, is God real?” said Boado.

Some opponents would even accuse him of cheating by alleging that his kart was equipped with unauthorized gears

Go said all those distractions did not stop him from chasing his dream as he beat them fair and square – thanks to his battlecry which her mother coined, and which he ultimately embraced.

“I want to prove them wrong. They have done so many bad things to me that the only way to shut them off is to just win something that they could not do. And in the end, I am here, I am still racing and winning in Europe while some of them I have never heard of for many years now,” Go said.

His ultimate goal is to compete in the prestigious Formula One – a dream of many esteemed karters before him.

Well, if there’s a will, there’s always a way.