Yamaha Motor Philippines, Inc. proudly welcomed home two Filipino athletes who’ve brought pride to the Philippines, Moto2 racer, McKinley Kyle Paz and Olympic Silver Medalist, Carlo Paalam.
McKinley Kyle Paz
McKinley Kyle Paz is the first Filipino to compete in the FIM CEV Moto2 European Championship. We’ve been covering his progress in these stories. He recently returned to the Philippines for a quick break before the last round of the season.
Paz has been in Europe for several months, racing under the VR46 Mastercamp Racing Team. He showed significant development and placed as high as 7th place in one of the races, in a series packed with Spain and Italy’s best young racers, all aspiring to enter into the premier series, MotoGP.
“The experience was valuable,” Kyle said in Filipino, “not just in the racetrack, but the paddock and hotel too. What I can learn is how they handle a rider, specifically the crew chief and mechanic. My crew chief was like my coach… I saw how the Spanish and Italian riders train and studied it so we can do it in the Philippines.”
Armed with this knowledge, Paz hopes to impart the lessons he learned to better prepare himself and other Filipino hopefuls for competing abroad.
Carlo Paalam
Also back in the country is Olympic Silver Medalist, Carlo Paalam. The boxer has overcome contributed to a historic medal run for the Philippine contingent in the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics. Paalam rose up the ranks to take a silver medal back home.
Being a rider, Paalam has always dreamed of owning a big bike, the YZF-R6 in particular. He has always hoped to one day move up from his current ride of a Yamaha Sniper 155.
“May poster lang ako at sinasabi ko, sana akin balang araw. Ngayong hawak hawak ko na. (I just had a poster of it and said I’d get one some day. Now I have it.)," Paalam said.
Hearing this wish, Yamaha and Wheeltek joined forces to make this dream come true and present him with his dream big bike as part of the companies’ way of recognizing the pride he has brought to the country.
Besides the bike itself, Yamaha also made sure Carlo is armed with the skill and knowledge to safely handle a big bike, arranging an exclusive training session with Coach Joey Storm at the Clark Speedway. He was also given a special helmet that celebrates his induction into the Yamaha family and motorsports world.
“Sa mga bata na nangagarap, walang imposible sa taong may gusto sa pangarap. (To the kids who dream of success, nothing’s imposible for those who want to achieve their dreams.),” Paalam said.
Yamaha is proud to honor these two athletes who have achieved so much this year, bringing pride to the Filipino people.
