RACING pedigree is usually passed on from one generation to another.
The list of racing families is endless. From the Ramirezes to the Riveras and Bumgarners, motorsports is usually a family tradition practiced by the same familiar faces on the race track.
Even the new racers, the ones who are beginning to conquer the tracks and circuits, usually have a family member influencing him/her to feel the thrill of motorsports adventure behind the wheel, or on top of a two-wheel racing machine.
But not John T. Dizon, nicknamed Love by his mother Meljorie.
“Nobody in my family ever raced so I guess my passion for speed is inborn,” said John, who began his love for cars and racing when he was a toddler.
“My mom won a kiddie one-seater car at a raffle draw from Duty Free Philippines, where I started to ride while my sisters pushed it because I was too small to drive it by myself. As I grew, every time we went to a mall, I will surely bring home a new RC car because I will never leave the Toy Kingdom premises without it. In fairness, I operated them well. I am also fond of playing at Timezone and people always watch the monitor I was playing with and were astounded to see a little boy trying hard to hold the steering wheel for his feet to reach the pedal,” explained Love.
This love for everything motorsports soon manifested itself into the race track as the Grade 8 student at Harrel Horne Integrated School in Bacoor, Cavite is already an accomplished karter despite his youth.
“I was the 2015 Round 8 & 9 KF Jr. Champion, the 2014 Rookie Karter of the year and the 2nd runner up in 2014 Formula SL Novice. With Gods’ grace I end up in the podium for all local races since I started racing in June of 2014 until December last year in spite of so much pressure during the heats due to inferior equipment,” said Love.
As a newbie coming out of nowhere, with no family background in motorsports and bringing home the Rookie of the Year award from the Golden Wheel in 2014, Love said he will continue to race under the KF Jr. Category both in local competitions and the Asian Karting Championships.
“I will practice also in shifter kart. It’s faster and it can improve my driving skills. If opportunity permits, I will join some Asian races because I believe racing with more drivers with different level of skills and experience will give me a grasp of the how far I am behind them in skills or what should I do to competitively leave them behind. I have experienced it once in Malaysia and given the right equipment and practice I am confident I can perform better,” Love said.
And in order to perform better, Love said he plans to improve his “physique, my driving skills and most importantly exercise quick and precise mental alertness to address every given situation for my advantage during races. This will slowly establish myself as a fair and competitive driver, giving my competitors a meaningful and a worthwhile race.”
One hindrance though to Love’s passion is unlike other racers, who are financially well off, he relies on sponsors to keep his dream alive.
“I realize this is a sport of the elite and somehow influenced by power and commerce. But I will keep these as my motivation to improve myself. Nonetheless, there are still people in the industry that extend help in different manners in my races. I am forever grateful to them and will always remember their kindness. I may not be able to repay them materially at the moment, but I pray for an abundant and continuous blessing for them and their families,” Love said.
Even his goals in the future are related to his love for racing.
“I will pursue a course in Aircraft Engineering. I will use the knowledge I will learn from it in my racing career,” Love said. “I know many eyebrows will raise, but I foresee myself in five years racing in Formula 3 and in 10 years, I will be a World Champ in Formula 1. I am aware that I will be going through numerous trials and hardships to make my dream come true and I will keep myself ready to overcome them.”
Big dreams? Yes, but with a support cast dedicated to his craft, nothing is impossible.
“I want to thank the people whom had played an enormous part in my journey. First is my family who gave me the chance to start racing and is continuously assisting me, my idol multi-awarded Champion Gabriel Cabrera, Ama Abby Tayao and Tita Karen Tayao, Coach Edgen Dy-Liacco, Kilton Motors and its management and staff, my mechanics who did everything in their capacity to improve my equipment, my teachers from Harrel Horne Integrated School, my sisters for their understanding and support, to my Father in heaven who provided my mom with the resources to finance my race expenses. Thank you also to Elica Ointment for keeping my skin asthma manageable during my races,” he said.
