Promeda drove the Nissan X-Trail, the official media 4x4 vehicle, with a time of two minutes and 41.04 seconds, just 2.29 seconds shy of the targeted 2:43.33 set by the organizers in this run which is on its second year of giving media practitioners a chance to experience off-road driving with a competitive atmosphere.
Meantime, motoring writer Tessa Salazar of the Philippine Daily Inquirer clocked 2:37.16 to conquer the women’s division in the muddy and bumpy terrain designed to also test the off-road performance of the versatile X-trail 2 5L and 2.0 L 4x4 sports utility vehicles.
Since it was not a speed contest, Salazar took it smooth and easy in the slippery corners and straights to get as close as possible to the "ideal trekking time", a formal term used to emphasize safe driving and getting a feel of the track condition and enjoying the challenge and beauty of the surroundings and the SUV machine while simulating a mountain trekking activity.
Rounding out the top five male finishers are Arrin Villareal and Matt Mallari who completed a top three rout by Motoring Today, motoring editor Popong Andolong of Today and Jason Ang of MotionCars.Com.
The women runners-up include Michelle Pritchard of Auto Review and Manila Bulletin, Lyn Ching-Pascual, host of GMA 7’s Unang Hirit, and Pin Pahilanga and Nov Legayo, also of Auto Review.
The event which ran side-by-side with the Caltex Delo-Land Cruiser Club of the Philippines 4x4 Jamboree also proved the X-Trail’s reliability in handling extreme off-road conditions while providing car comfort and convenience to participants.
The awards ceremony will be held during Caltex motorsports’ Gathering of Champions Night at the Westin Philippine Plaza on December 3.