Going for Gold

MANILA, Philippines - It sounds like a bona fide boxing match: you have nicknames like “Typhoon” and competitors talking of “rivalry” and “unfinished business”. But this isn’t a mano-a-mano fight – it’s something cooler. And way, way harder. Welcome to the Rainforest Challenge or RFC. Aside from testing man’s limits, the RFC is designed to drive vehicles to the utmost edge of their limits and the unpredictability of the weather as well as the terrain makes things doubly hard. But for Team Land Rover Philippines, it’s just business as usual.

Fresh from its overall first runner-up finish at the Rainforest Challenge of Malaysia in Johor Bahru last year, the father and son duo of Larry “Typhoon” Mendiola and Hirryan is jetting off to Hainan Island for the China International Rainforest Challenge (CIRFC) from August 18-24. Their ride: “The Duck”, a specially modified Land Rover Defender 90 so named because of its bright color as well as its excellent water wading capabilities. This lone entry at the CIRFC will be carrying the torch of Philippine pride as it roars off through the Chinese jungle with its 3.9-liter V8 petrol engine.

Though vastly experienced in international off-roading, the Mendiolas underwent extensive training for three months as they’re expecting the competition to be intense and fierce. To help them in their quest for gold, they carried out a decisively analytical approach to their training, perfecting skills such as winching in silt and muddy water. As a result, they’ve made changes to both their techniques as well as mechanical changes to their Defender 90. All the more critical since the CIRFC is expected to draw 500 participants from over 15 countries during the one week event.

Despite being modified to tackle the unforgiving jungle terrain, Land Rover Philippines’s Executive Director Marc Soong reiterates that their Defender 90 is one of the least modified and one of the only pure vehicles being 100 percent Land Rover at the RFC. In fact, it has proven its capability as one of the toughest vehicles in the entire competition despite the increasing challenges year after year.

“Year after year the competition in the RFC has gotten tougher and competition stronger. Four our team to place as first runner-up and been getting awards from the past Rainforest Challenge Competitions is nothing short of a landmark victory and is hopefully a step towards getting the championship someday. I have always said, off-roading is a sport in which Filipinos can dominate,” said Land Rover Philippines’ Marc Soong.

Land Rover Philippines is the first automotive distributor in the Philippines to sponsor a competitor team for an international off-road race.

“With the continued support of Land Rover Philippines and other sponsors (Timberland and MAA General Assurance Philippines), I am optimistic that Team Land Rover Philippines can break more motorsports records in the coming CIRFC,” said Robby Consunji, the Philippine Representative of the Rainforest Challenge of Malaysia.