THE 2025 season was a trial by fire for Filipino karter Ryan Sy, who stepped up to the Senior Class at the start of the year.
But the 15-year-old exceeded expectations, closing out his rookie campaign with two major accolades — the ROK Cup Thailand Overall Championship and ROK Cup Asia Overall Vice Championship.
Sy has taken his racing beyond the Philippines since 2024, competing against Asia’s top karters on some of the region’s most challenging circuits. But 2025 marked a significant leap as he bagged two separate championships across 10 events.
“Winning ROK Cup Thailand and finishing 2nd in ROK Cup Asia feels amazing in my debut year in Seniors. It’s been a big step up — more demanding, more competitive, and I had to go up against older, more experienced racers. There were a lot of challenges and setbacks along the way, but we stayed fully committed and kept pushing,” said Sy.
ROK Cup Thailand Overall Champion
Featuring four rounds held exclusively at the Bira Karting Circuit in Pattaya, Thailand, Sy’s campaign got off to a slow start with an 8th-place finish at the season opener in March.
But everything changed in Round 2, where Sy, who is supported by Bell Helmets and Bell Racing Design, CW Motorsports, PCRC Racing Club, KR Global Motor Sport, WrapTech, and Domuschola International School, scored his first-ever Senior Class win at a regional level.
Maintaining the momentum, Sy’s 2nd-place finish in Round 3 vaulted him into the points’ lead — setting up a title showdown in the season finale.
Another strong drive saw him take 2nd in the Final of Round 4, securing the ROK Cup Thailand Senior title with a commanding 42-point margin over his closest pursuer.
ROK Cup Asia Overall Vice Champion
Things were far more unpredictable in ROK Cup Asia, where Sy faced off against the region’s top talent across six rounds on six different tracks.
He opened the season strong at Bira, immediately emerging as a championship contender.
But it was Round 2 in Macau that became his standout performance of the year. Battling a grid of 34 top Asian and European karters at the Coloane Karting Track, Sy fought hard to finish 5th in one of the most competitive events of his career — taking the championship lead in the process.
He extended that lead at Round 3 in Malaysia, finishing 3rd in the Finals at the LYL Karting Circuit, which put him 44 points clear of his closest rival. But the second half of the season tested his resilience as Sy struggled to find pace at the Sentul Karting Circuit in Indonesia and finished outside the Top 10 in Round 5, before started dead last in the Finals of Round 5, charged his way into the Top 5 — only to be hit again by the same driver, dropping him to 21st and out of the points lead.
After a strong run in the Pre-Finals at the KF1 Karting Circuit in Singapore, Sy only needed to finish the Finals to secure the championship, but a collision led to a heartbreaking DNF, leaving Ryan 2nd overall in the standings.
Despite the dramatic finish, Ryan’s 2025 season was nothing short of remarkable. His titles as ROK Cup Thailand Overall Champion and ROK Cup Asia Overall Vice Champion — along with his points lead in ROK Cup Philippines — have earned him three invitations to the ROK Cup Superfinal 2025, taking place on October 14–18 at South Garda Karting in Lonato, Italy.
“After a season of learning, hardship, and persistence, I’m proud to bring home the ROK Thailand Senior title — a first for the Philippines. To win a championship and fight against some of the best in Asia is honestly a dream come true. All the hard work, practice, and track time paid off,” Sy said.
