Fresh from a hard-fought victory in wet night conditions, Ayrton Gono Atienza has further stamped his presence in Philippine motorsports. Racing under the JVL/Autoplus Racing Team banner, Atienza recently captured the Overall Championship title in the MiniROK XCS Category of the 2025 Petron Blaze 100 RMC Philippine Series.
As in the previous round, the event at Clark International Speedway was marked by unpredictable weather. On practice day, Atienza consistently delivered lap times in the 52-second range, making him one of the front-runners heading into time trials.
Rain arrived just as the following day’s time trial began. With the track quickly turning slippery, most competitors switched to wet-weather tires. Atienza’s team chose to gamble, keeping him on slicks under the belief that conditions would still be manageable. The decision backfired, and his performance suffered. He ended up starting from the back of the grid for the qualifying heats.
The setback only fueled Atienza’s drive. In Heat 1, he worked his way through the pack and secured third with a best lap of 53.293. In Heat 2, he finished fifth with a 53.398. These results kept him in strong contention for the main race.
Come race day, Atienza wasted no time climbing into third. Ahead of him, race leader Matteo Caceres of C&C Motorsports and Vincent Ardina of DRQ Motorsports fought hard for position. On lap 6, the two made contact, opening the door for Atienza to take control. From there, he maintained his pace and never looked back.
He completed the 10-lap final in 10:29.553, averaging a minute per lap, with his best at 53.37. The win sealed the overall championship for Atienza—on the same day he celebrated his 12th birthday.
“I asked God for guidance when I was struggling. I didn’t want to be nervous. I told my mom I hoped it wouldn’t rain again like it did in the time trial. But deep down, I already had a plan. I studied the data, imagined every scenario. I carried it all in my head,” Atienza shared after the race.
