Have fun and winning is a bonus

I would say that the “let’s have fun and who knows, we might win” was the frame of mind of most of the 167 warm bodies – participants all in the Caltex with Techron 2011 STV Auto Rally Corporate Challenge – as they converged last Saturday, March 5 at the tarmac of the Subic Bay International Airport.

A total of 57 current-model automobiles of different makes and brands representing 16 Corporate Rally Teams that were fielded by the country’s major automobile manufacturers, importers and distributors – as one spectator was heard saying, “All the ones that matter in the local auto industry are here!”

All the major high-end brands came complete – Robert Coyiuto, Jr. of PGA Cars sent his Audis and Porsches and so did Pepito Alvarez his BMWs from Asian Carmakers with Maricar Parco now at the helm, bossom buddies Greg Yu and Felix Ang their Mercedes-Benzes from CATS Motors, while Alfred Ty’s Lexus cars from Lexus-Manila, which is run very ably by Danny “Sir John” Isla and Richard Lee’s Volvos to complete the line up of the country’s exclusive array of luxury automobiles.

The more popularly used Japanese, American and Korean brands made the majority of the participating teams’ line up. The expansive starting grid was filled by remarkable present-year models bearing the badges of Toyota, Mitsubishi, Isuzu, Honda and Mazda as well as those with American badges of Ford and General Motor’s Chevrolet while Hyundai and Kia represented Korea.

The overwhelming response by the local auto industry to the event, which just saw its 4th hugely successful staging, has left its organizers, Sunshine Television (STV), producers of long-time developmental programs like Motoring Today, Business & Leisure and Auto Focus, no choice but to make it an integral part of the yearly line up of the industry’s major activities.

The STV Auto Rally Corporate Challenge is actually a revival of a very popular motor sport in the 60s that was known then as Sampaguita Rally. The basic concept of the sport is to be “on time, all the time”, which means that participants are given a certain allotted time to travel from one point to another, say point A to point B. Anyone who goes beyond or under the prescribed time is given a demerit for every second he or she goes over or under the said given time – a challenge that requires precision driving and timing. But it doesn’t stop at reaching the assigned destination at the precise time you have been given. The participant is also required to be on time while anywhere within the distance to be traveled. This would be determined by time checkpoints between the starting point A and the ending point B, the location of which, are not known to the participants. Now to make matters more challenging and the competition more mind-boggling, the route that you should take from point A to point B is dictated by a Route Book, which describes where to pass only by symbols and landmarks within the prescribed route. The way to win is to have the least number of demerits by the end of the rally.

What makes this motor sport very appealing to many is that you don’t have to spend for a vehicle specially designed for the sport – any running, dependable, reliable and street-legal automobile will do without any modifications needed to competitively participate – your day-to-day car will do. As the rally often times runs on public roads, a traffic rule infringement would mean an immediate disqualification, making participants literally law-abiding, at least all throughout the rally. And for the same reason, speeding or racing is not allowed as the rules also basically discourage it – you have to be “on time all the time” in order to win.

The event’s mix of participants last Saturday can say a lot about the kind of people who are participating and would eventually participate in this kind of motor sport discipline. There were those that are vastly knowledgeable combined with the very experienced and there were the novices, the wannabes, the diehards, the “career” participants and those that were there just to have fun.

On top of the list of experienced, formidable names in the sport is one car of the Lexus Rally Team a Lexus IS300 (hybrid) that had together Mandy Eduque and Jun Espino. Those in motor sport would know Mandy, not only as a rally driver par excellance, but also as one who heads motor sports over at the Automobile Association of the Philippines (AAP). As a matter of fact, he flagged off last year’s event. While Jun has always been Mandy’s navigator even in their international rally exploits. And Jun managed my first Sampaguita Rally revival, which STV did in Tagaytay some years back. And if that’s not knowing what the sport is, I don’t know what is.

But again to demonstrate the wide band of representation in the event’s list of participants, we have Honda Cars Philippines fielding a CRV with an “all ladies” team composed of former labor secretary Nieves Confessor, Mrs. Grace Favila and Ms. Bettina Manalang – all very close friends and first timers in the motor sport. When I tried to check on them while lined up on the starting grid, they were one in saying that they were there “just to have fun.” And fun I’m sure they really had because when I checked on them again during lunch after the first half of the rally they said, “We had such great fun because we did not get lost,” Oh, thank you Lord for such sweet ladies.

Mother Nature must have been smiling at us last Saturday because despite having “Pocholo Ramirez weather” (that’s being at the brink of having or not having rain, if you ask any Subic racing old-timer) it only started to shower a little after we got done with the flag-off ceremonies. And the rest of the day was just perfect for such an event. It was not hot and humid and the temperature was super comfortable.

In any of Sunshine TV’s events, it has never been our practice to scrimp on food and last Saturday we were very lucky to have such a caterer that served very good food, the kind to have in such a motor sport event where most people get super hungry when they are having such great fun. And the lechon was something to “die” for – literally, “Bahala na... Masarap eh,” as many were heard to have said. There was so much food that we invited the Subic Bay International Airport staff to join us. If any of you guys would have an event in Subic that would require such caterer, I can refer you to these professionals.

But I’ll have to doff my hat to guys like SBMA administrator Armand Arezza, who I never got to meet personally, as we were both busy with a million things to do yet he gave the event the full support of SBMA. And there’s the deputy administrator for tourism, Raul Marcelo, who represented SBMA during the flag off ceremonies (welcome speech, flagging off, gamely judging the “best looking rally team”, etc.), nothing more to ask from this great guy and Brig. General Marcelo Santos, the efficient general manager of Subic Bay International Airport – they made things work just for the event. Thank you, guys.

Of course, there’s Georges Ramirez, who’s indeed “the son of his father, the late racing legend, Pocholo Ramirez”, who together with Mikko David and Patrick Chua really did a great job of running the rally. These guys are a bunch of perfectionists who check and re-check until they are finally convinced that what has been done was the right thing to do.

It was a pity that none of the “sweet ladies” from Chevron, namely; Veronica Pangilinan and Marilen Dalistan who made their decision to be proudly associated with the event because it is part of the yearlong activities that support STV’s road safety advocacy of which Caltex is a major stakeholder and also to a great extent because it is one of the mega events involving the entire local auto industry. But they promised to be present during the “awards night” cocktails scheduled tomorrow, March 10 at the Valle Verde Country Club.

But I cannot end this account of last Saturday’s hugely successful event without saying a very sincere and deeply felt “Thank you” to all our friends in the local auto industry who were undoubting in lending their support by participating in this year’s Caltex with Techron 2011 STV Auto Rally Corporate Challenge. Thank you for your continuing trust and confidence.

Happy motoring!!!

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