Tough test for man and machine

At exactly high noon last April 5, in front of Country Waffles in Eastwood City, Libis, Nissan Motor Philippines, Inc. (NMPI) flagged off another assault on the Pan-Philippine Run with its Nissan Sentra 1.6 Exalta Superio. Their goal was to surpass the 1995 record when a 1995 Nissan Sentra 1.6 Series III (B14-series) made the Pan-Philippine Run in 30 days covering 30,568 kms. Willie Ingles and his ROADS crew were again behind the wheel of the marathon car, just like in 1991 and 1995. For good measure, NMPI invited a few motoring journalists to ride (and drive) along with Willie and his crew in some of the legs.

I couldn’t resist the invitation.

Willie instructed me to be at the Mantrade Nissan dealership in Pasong Tamo, Makati at 8 p.m. April 14, Sunday. I would be joining their North Run as part of the four-man crew who would be sharing driving duties in the Exalta Superio marathon car. He would later text me to come by 10 p.m. because the marathon car was delayed by ferry problems. I arrived at Mantrade at 9 p.m. and found Vir Diwa, NMPI VP for sales and marketing, conferring with Julie Javier, area manager, and Hermie Cayabyab, Mantrade service manager. After the pleasantries, I was told that the marathon car was arriving between 11 p.m. and midnight. Hermie and his service crew had been waiting for the car so they could give it a thorough check-up before it drove up the North Luzon area.

The nocturnal silence of the dealership was broken when the Exalta Superio arrived a few minutes before 1 a.m. Mon Dizon, a renowned circuit racer who was with the marathon crew since the flag-off, drove the car into the dealership and directly into the service bay. The Mantrade service crew immediately sprang into action, securely fastening the car to a lifter and inspecting and tightening every nut, bolt and screw. After logging 9,145 kilometers, the Exalta Superio still looked fresh, except for the dust, mud and road grime it picked up along the way.

After changing the Goodyear Eagle Ventura directional tires with a fresh set, a minor alignment was performed because the front tires weren’t wearing evenly. When the check-up was completed, the car was lowered back to the ground and our bags were loaded into the trunk. Sonny Joaquin, another Pan-Philippine Marathon veteran, was the designated night driver, with Milo Cacanindin riding shotgun. I rode at the back with Willie who was still barking out orders to the South Run team as we were driving out of Mantrade. We stopped for a full tank of Vortex Silver at the Caltex station at EDSA Guadalupe. At 10 minutes before 2 a.m., we were off to the north.

We took the length of EDSA, then right to the North Luzon Tollway at a pretty fast clip. Sonny and Milo were still familiarizing themselves with the A/C and radio controls and the shifting behavior of the four-speed overdrive automatic transmission. Upon leaving the Sta. Rita exit of the tollway with the odometer reading 9,195 kms., our right rear tire went flat after a bolt that probably fell from a truck impaled it. Fortunately for us, the spare Goodyear Eagle Ventura directional tire was mounted in the same direction as the flat one. A quick tire change and we were off again.

I was beginning to feel nauseated when we reached Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija by 3:30 a.m. It must have been the food I ate before I went to Mantrade (my Last Supper?) or because of the fact that I am not used to being in the rear seat (vertigo?). Whatever it was, I threw up at the roadside when we reached Muñoz, Nueva Ecija. "It happens even to the best rally navigator," Sonny and Willie assured me. After expelling the butterflies from my stomach, I felt better. I eventually dozed off.

Zigzags of Dalton Pass

Dawn found us attacking the zigzags of Dalton Pass, or bitukang manok as local motorists call it, separating Nueva Ecija and Nueva Vizcaya. Sonny’s years of Pan-Philippine driving experience really showed in the way he tackled the curves with ease. "I am pleased with the behavior of the suspension of the Exalta Superio. Talagang kapit na kapit. You can corner better and at higher speeds," he said. When we reached Solano, Nueva Vizcaya with the odometer reading 9,431 kms., we stopped for fuel and food. Milo recommended a roadside restaurant and we had a heavy breakfast of papaitan, rellenong talong and rice.

We looked for a Goodyear Servitek station to fix our spare, but it was still closed since it was too early in the morning. We kept our fingers crossed as we pushed to Santiago, Isabela, hoping that the spare might not be needed until, at least, we could have it fixed. With 9,491 kms. on the odometer, we reached Santiago by 8:30 a.m. and drove into the World Cars Nissan dealership. Arturo San Juan and his staff laid out the welcome mat, and they had the tire fixed. After our hour-long pit (and food) stop, we thanked them for their hospitality and bade the World Cars people goodbye.

With Milo Cacanindin behind the wheel, we drove through the towns of Ramon and San Manuel at a faster clip to catch up on the time we lost during the tire repair. Willie checked in with NMPI people through his cellphone while we were passing through Aurora, Isabela where he reported that the mileage was at 9,539. A few minutes later, another NMPI check was called in to report that we were in Enrile, Isabela with the mileage reading 9,601 while doing 170 kph. Milo was all praises for the engine but found the shifting pattern of the transmission a bit intrusive. "While trying to minimize shift shock at wide open throttle, the tranny feels as if it is doing the thinking for you," he observed. "Just like a mother-in-law," I quipped.

We reached Tuguegarao by noon and had a hearty lunch at a Chinese restaurant after we loaded up on fuel. After lunch, I was handed the key. It was finally my turn to drive.

The odometer read 9,628 kms. as we started our trek toward Ilocos Norte. We needed to make up for lost ground so we were on a blistering pace. I was trying to impress Sonny, Willie and Milo by driving in a racing line when I attacked the curves on the mountains of Ilocos Region. We were doing about 120-140 kph on the straight sections of the road and about 80-90 kph on the curves. Instead of braking, I was using whatever available banking there was to scrub off speed so we could enter the curves faster and smoother. There was an eerie silence about them while I was zigzagging away. I thought perhaps they were petrified, or maybe silently observing my driving. I glanced at them only to have my ego crushed. They were fast asleep.

We stopped for a while to admire the view and have some coffee as we entered Ilocos Norte. After a few photos, we went blazing down the mountain road where I had fun dicing with a red car that had been tailing us on the zigzags as we entered Pagudpud. As we reached the straight road near Laoag, it became a drag race between the Exalta Superio and the red car. But I decided to back off when Sonny reminded me that it was still a long journey to 30,000 kms.

At about 4:20 p.m., we drove into Laoag with 9,940 kms. on the odometer and the car barely breaking a sweat. The Exalta Superio impressed me for 312 kms. (and three and a half-hours) by eagerly revving up to the redline and slicing through each corner with aplomb. The brakes worked perfectly and the ABS helped us from locking the tires during abrupt braking at sharp corners. I knew its power could take on the red car in a drag race, but the marathon veterans knew better than let this hot shoe have his fun.

‘Longganisa Run’

Sonny took over the controls as we drove to Batac and into the Aramid Pinakitaan Market, where they bought Ilocano meat products like bagnet and longganisa. Willie informed me that he might label the North Run as the "Longganisa Run" since they get a lot of orders from friends when they drive to Ilocos.

I dozed off while we were entering Ilocos Sur and woke up only when I heard Willie report that we were in San Fernando, La Union with 10,166 kms. on the odometer. Being on the 10th day of the Nissan Marathon, the car was now on track for 1,000 kms. per day to reach its goal. We felt elated and decided to have burgers for dinner at a McDonald’s outlet in the city. After dinner, Willie took over the driving duties and drove the car toward Dagupan. We got there by 10:30 p.m. and immediately drove to a Caltex station before they closed for the day. With the tank filled up with Vortex Silver and the odometer reading 10,240 kms., we braced ourselves for our final leg to Manila. By now, everybody was tired from the road trip, but thankfully, no one had started hallucinating.

Somewhere in Urdaneta, Pangasinan, Willie stopped the car and asked me to drive. It seemed that the MSG in the chicken he had for dinner made him drowsy. I glanced at the instrument panel. The odometer read 10,320 kms. while the clock displayed 11:15. We sped off through the towns of Pangasinan, got caught in traffic in Tarlac, Tarlac and entered the tip of the North Luzon Tollway, then drove through Pampanga, Bulacan, then caught the exit in Balintawak. At about 1:30 a.m. we reached Mantrade in Makati where the Exalta Superio underwent another thorough inspection by the Mantrade service crew and had its Halvoline engine oil changed. The tires were wearing evenly which meant that the adjustments they made were on the dot. A fresh marathon crew was waiting to take over the car for its second run toward the south, and they needed to hurry to catch the last ferry in Matnog.

The odometer read 10,473 kms. when we drove into Mantrade, which meant that I added another 153 kms., or drove a total of 465 kms.(35 percent) during the 1,328-km. North Run. We spent almost 24 hours traversing that distance on the Nissan. It was a grueling test of endurance for men and machine. The machine, the bone-stock Nissan Sentra 1.6 Exalta Superio marathon car, passed the test of this round with flying colors and showed willingness to hurdle the next succeeding rounds.

The men – Willie Ingles and his motley crew – have again shown their time-honed skill, experience and resolve in planning, tackling and enduring the Pan-Philippine Run. As for me, well, I needed a hot bath, a good massage and about 20 hours of sleep after the adventure.