Most aspiring racers have the goal of competing abroad, which comes at the cost of travel and labor to make the finishes worthwhile. In the local scene, drivers like Zach David and Iñigo Anton have made their marks in international formula racing while being away from the Philippines.

Another driver is Bella Cañete, a 14-year-old who began in local karting championships and progressed to the Indonesian Drift Series (IDS) in 2024. This year, she has earned 448 points in the Women’s Drift Challenge (WDC), driving her E36 BMW 3-Series under the Akuma Drift Team.

However, a weird precedent occurred when the Filipino drifter was forbidden from being listed on the official registration sheet for the fifth and final IDS round. Cañete posted on her social media channels on October 24 regarding the confusing and frustrating news, stating that the reason had “nothing to do with racing.”

The organizers released an official statement posted on Instagram, claiming that Cañete was never removed from the championship standings and “will continue to be recognized by the IDS.” Bella’s parents heavily criticized the statement, calling out the gross negligence and lack of transparency from the IDS’s side.

All hope for a return seemed lost as Cañete decided to step away from Akuma in protest “to protect them from any retaliation and power play,” she said.

On October 29, Cañete posted a ray of positivity. She confirmed that her points had been reinstated, and she was now able to register and compete in the final round. “I’m grateful and beyond excited to finally say that my points are back!”

An interesting twist to the whole debacle is a legal battle between one of the IDS directors and her parents, as it was the catalyst for her removal in the first place. As of this writing, its details have not been further explained publicly, apart from sources in local news and tabloids.

It wasn’t just the Filipino driver who experienced injustice in the IDS system. Local team Garasi Drift encountered a similar issue with its Pro2 driver, Farrel Rafellyno. He was incorrectly placed in the same standings post from which Cañete was removed in favor of Rofbell Sahroni.

The IDS soon released a statement correcting the mistake, and veteran driver and Farrel’s father, Fitra Eri, accepted the apology in the comments. However, Ziko Harnadi and Dipo Dwiki, the founders of Garasi Drift, announced their withdrawal from the round in support of Cañete and Rafellyno, believing that both drivers have the worst end of the stick.

Both situations have negatively impacted Filipinos and even Indonesians, highlighting management’s failure to respect its current drivers regardless of nationality. Some might hear about nepotism and favoritism, but that issue drifts closer to the sun.

What matters is that off-championship politics remained separate from the game, and in the meantime, let the racers be racers. Bella Cañete will be joining the final round of the Indonesian Drift Series as intended on November 8-9 at the Mandala Krida Stadium in Yogyakarta.