echo adrotate_group(19);

Words by Angel S. Rivero     Photos by Ardie O. Lopez

Many of us may already recognize the familiar faces of TV icons Matteo Guidicelli and Ivan Carapiet. Both Filipino-Italians with strong racing backgrounds, they are a nice example of fun-loving boys who took interest in all-sorts motoring at a very young age. Matteo tells us his story that, being raised in Cebu, there was really no racing scene there. At 9 years old he owned his first dirt bike; and between that age and 12, he was even racing horses. Except one time when he was 11, he went on a trip to Italy, and there, his Italian uncle took him to this Go Kart place where he tried, enjoyed, and loved it… In fact, he had such a fantastic time that he wanted to go back immediately the next day – except he couldn’t because he was flying back to Manila, and so he recalls crying and being really sad all the way home.

echo adrotate_group(2);

Coincidentally, when he had returned to hometown Cebu, his other uncles called him to let him know that there was a Go Kart circuit being built in the city, he was shocked, albeit overjoyed, and this is how it really all began. Eventually his grandpa and dad got him his own Go Kart – and from that day on, he was on the track everyday after school, and even on weekends or whenever he would have free time. “My life was on the racetrack,” he explained.

When he turned 13, he moved to Manila specifically for racing, and his whole family had to move along with him. “I wanted to be the first Filipino Formula 1 driver!” he exclaimed. “But now Marlon [Stockinger] is gonna do it… I know he’s gonna make it,” he thought loudly.

Matteo eventually raced touring cars when he was 17-18, and later won the title of Philippine Champion 3 times, and Karter of the Year 3 times as well. He found himself racing under the Madrigals around 2008-2009 and then stopped because he went to Chicago for College. Four years ago, he came back to the country, but he regrets to say that now his serious racing days are pretty much over. “But you know, it’s never gonna die in me… I still love driving,” he exclaimed.

Matteo tells us that at 11 years old he flipped his kart for the 1st time, and that that was his eye-opener to the reality of the inevitable risks of racing. On his last year of racing, he flipped again… this time he hit his head, went dizzy, and had to remain for 2 weeks in bed. “But Europe’s a different experience altogether,” he pointed out. “People there are crazier, faster… perhaps so much better than most people here in the Philippines,” he declared. He said racing in Europe was definitely one of his highlights. His dad sent him there when he was 16, where he joined the CRG Italian Team and stayed practicing with them for 6 months. And almost like a racing version of the Karate Kid movie, he had instructors teaching him how to be a mechanic, and they had him doing chores like mopping the floor, cutting about a hundred screws everyday, cleaning engines… “I really learned a lot,” he said. He pointed out that here in the Philippines, a lot of the drivers only know how to drive; in Europe, they expect you to also know the technical aspects and how to be a mechanic.

Matteo’s last car was a Cooper S, but he eventually decided to sell it since he didn’t have much time to drive it around for fun anyway. He decided that for his current showbiz job, he would now need a different type of car. And apparently, currently rolls with the spanking new Isuzu D-Max.

He shares that if he were to buy himself a toy car right now, he would like to go for either a Porsche 911 or a Subaru STI. “I feel that with the STI I could just go and play with it – like throw it around… while with the 911, it’s just so sexy… and such a stable car,” he says.

When asked about what advice he could give to young people who want to pursue a racing career in the Philippines, he answered, “If you wanna be really good at it, you have to put your heart and your entire soul and everything else into it… You can’t do anything halfway.” He also explained that it would be advantageous if they could find the means to also practice racing abroad. Furthermore, he explained the importance of responsible driving to minimize the inherent risks in motorsports.

“I really didn’t get to experience the high-school party life,” he shared. “Because right after school I would already go practice racing.” But he also points out that he did really enjoy the dedication to racing. ”It kept me away from all the bad vices and stuff,” he justified. He also pointed out that his dad was the manager of the team at that time, and that he made sure to instill the virtue of hardcore discipline in him. “He would really make me wake early, work hard…” he reminisced. And now, I realize the value of what my dad had taught me.

Today, Matteo is 23 and focuses 100% on his work on TV. He still dreams of driving fast cars but in reality spends most of his time being an actor and model.
Ivan, on the other hand, was born into a family very much involved with motorsports. His dad, Aram Carapiet, raced into rally locally and internationally, while his uncle, Macky Carapiet, was also a racer. His uncle went to England and raced karts as the partner of John Carlo Fisicella as team PCR. Thus, growing up, Ivan was exposed to all these races so it was only but logical that he dreamed of being a great racer.

Unfortunately, motorsports sort of took its toll on their family resource-wise, especially since his uncle was racing internationally, and by the time Ivan had become ready to race, his family strongly discouraged him to pursue it. “Racing was almost practically banned in our family!” he remarked. “It was like racing became taboo in my family.”

“So when it was my time, I found it so unfair,” he recalled. He questioned why his father and uncle were given ample opportunities and why the support had been cut when it now came to him. But because he was at all the events, he knew practically everyone in the scene. And one day when he was 13 years old and after he had lost weight (he was initially a chubby kid), he went up to his ninong (godfather) Mike Potenciano and bravely expressed, “Tito Mike, I want to race!”

Mike Potenciano then decided to give him a chance and gave him an old Go Kart to participate in the National Series of K-team in 2004 under Mike’s team MP Turbo. Luckily, on his first year of joining the national series, he immediately won the championship, and won the titles Driver of the Year and Rookie of the Year!

He had, at that time, struck a deal with Mike, agreeing that if he did not perform, his sponsorship would not be pursued. But since the universe conspired, and he had more than just performed, but excelled, he started his journey as a racer under the wing of MP Turbo.
“Whenever I see Mike, I get teary,” shared Ivan, “because he was the one who paved my way,” he explained.

On his first year doing Go Kart, Mike let Ivan test cars with Carlos Anton – thereby making the latter his mentor of racing with cars. Carlos would let him drive around in the Super Saloon in Subic until the time came when MP Turbo came across some financial problems and eventually decided to cease. Mike’s family’s bus company BLTB had burned, and all of Ivan’s chassis happened to be in there along with the hundreds of other engines including 3 Ferrari’s and 3 Formula 3’s. Sadly, they had lost everything.

After that, Ivan had to stop racing for 1 year, “and my world turned around!” he recounted. Eventually, he had been able to strike a deal with Eduardo Pena, who gave him a 3-year program to get back into racing. Since Eduardo expressed faith in him, on his 2nd year of racing, Ivan was already set to participate in the Toyota Formula Champion series – where he won 10 out of the 14 races! He had then become the youngest Toyota Formula Champion at age 19.

Later on, Eddie too started losing money (because Formula 3 was crashing already), and eventually had to cease his sponsorship of Ivan. “I was brokenhearted all over again,” he expressed. Then he called Matteo’s dad and with the little sponsorship money he had acquired from Coca Cola, struck a deal with his Papa Luca for him to provide Ivan with the necessary equipment and mechanics so that he could still race.

It was at this point that the 2 boys’ racing lives had finally come to intersect – Matteo and Ivan raced for 2 years as teammates, from 2005-2006. “We would hang out and do everything together!” cheered the 2 boys as they took turns in telling the story.

In the Rotax Max Championship, Ivan had finished 2nd place while Matteo bagged first place. In the Asian Championship held in Macau, Ivan finished 2nd place while Marlon Stockinger finished 1st. To this day, Ivan holds the lap record of 49:09 in Macau from 2007.

At some point, Ivan and Matteo ceased being teammates and started racing against each other, and although the competition was heated, they never stopped being the close friends that they had become.

Ivan explains that in order for you to really be a champion, you need to conquer all angles: You need to be a Good Driver; You need to have a Good Team; You need to have a Good Budget; and You need to have a Good Head (to focus). “If one is lacking in any of these 4 elements, then I don’t think you can become a champion, unless you’re really lucky,” remarked Ivan.

In 2008, Formula BMW offered Ivan a sponsorship, but he still had to come up with USD 200,000 for him to be able to pursue this. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the money,” said Ivan as he sadly explained how he eventually had to stop racing. It had become too difficult to sustain financially, and it was not going to work out if the roadblocks came too often.

When asked if he would still get back into racing these days, Ivan says, “You know, if I would only be given the opportunity, I would drop everything in a heartbeat. But this time, if I do race, it would have to be a really good package. Because I don’t wanna race anymore half-baked.”

And the advice Ivan could give to aspiring motorsports champions? 1. Find a good team for your motorsport on whichever level you are in (because they teach you everything and provide you with the equipment and so much support and direction) 2. Find Sponsorships! “It IS Possible,” remarked Ivan, “but, of course, it is very hard.”

Meanwhile, Matteo throws in that “You have to be hungry for the sport! It really cannot be half-baked. You have to give all your time, all your effort, all your life into it.” Moreover, he further remarks, “People sometimes think that it’s just about sitting down behind the wheel and stepping on the gas and brakes, but it’s not.” Explaining that it is a whole lot of other things at play.

Ivan adds, “You have to be physically and mentally fit because you’re facing around 3 to 4 G’s when you’re cornering, and you also need a lot of mental focus.” Furthering that, “If you lose concentration in 1 corner, 3 people will already overtake you.”

When asked about their perspective on the physical risks of racing, Matteo answered, “I think all racers are crazy in a way – for being numb from the fear of getting hurt.” Ivan adds, “Because you don’t really get to think about it.” He then shared that he broke his ribs once, during a Formula Toyota race when he got into an accident and his car had in fact burst into flames.

Finally, the 2 boys explain that despite their involvement in show business these days, “Cars are still in our blood.” They also keep themselves busy training for triathlons, which they participate in together.

Ivan’s latest stint as an actor was in the show ‘Juan dela Cruz’ which aired after TV Patrol during its season last year. He is also a model and acts in independent movies that are featured in film festivals. Meanwhile, Matteo starred in the soap opera Galema and also hosted the TV show Biggest Loser. He acted in an indie film called Saturday Night Chills for the Cinema 1 Festival, and in fact, was nominated and won the Best Actor title.