Late-bloomer easily blossoms in motocross

CEBU, Philippines - He's a late-bloomer, but it did not take long for him to blossom in the sport that is closest to his heart ever since he was a kid.

Ricardo 'Nonoy' Reluya Jr. plunged into motocross action at the age of 35, but buoyed by his flaming passion for this extreme sport, the road was smooth and easy for him to swiftly make an impact in the racing circuit.

"Since childhood, I really wanted to ride and join in a race," said Reluya. "But it was only in 2001, at the age of 35, that I started motocross racing."

Reluya said the ageless Pepo Rubi, one of the best and brightest riders Cebu has ever produced, is the one who inspired him to bring his interest in motocross to a highly competitive level.

"Aside from being my mentor, Pepo also serves as my personal doctor, so to speak, because he takes care of me every time I suffer an injury," said Reluya.

The barangay captain of Panadtaran, San Fernando said being a rider entails a lot of challenges and that one needs extreme dedication, high confidence level and all forms of discipline to excel in this field of sporting endeavor.

"It's not easy being a rider.That is why you need all kinds of discipline if you want to excel in this sport," said Reluya, who broke his left collarbone in his first accident as a rider some years back at the Lipata racetrack in Minglanilla.

He also sustained an ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) injury during a competition in Sagay City, Negros Occidental and lost his memory for almost an hour after a bad fall during a race in Ayungon, Negros Oriental.

"Sometimes you get injured and it's painful, but that's part of the challenge we have to bear," said Reluya, who clinched back-to-back championships in executive B category during the 2005 and 2006 seasons of the annual MS Motosuit Motocross Series.

Reluya is a consistent winner. He always had a podium finish in every race he participated in different areas of the country such as in Lanao, Palawan, Cagayan de oro, Dipolog, Bacolod, San Carlos, City and Bukidnon among others.

Reluya will share more about his outstanding exploits in motocross in the MX-RLS (Motocross Rider Life Story), the newest segment of the  MS Motosuit Motocross TV series aired over CCTN 47 every Saturday from 10 to 10:30 a.m. Replays of the weekly show are scheduled every Sunday from 10:30 to 11 o'clock in the evening.— EBV (FREEMAN)