MANILA, Philippines — As a kid, Filipino champion race car driver Enzo Pastor knew a motorcycle would cause his demise. He was right, but he never thought it would not be while riding one.
Pastor, the first Filipino to participate and win in a NASCAR championship, was ambushed in Quezon City Thursday night with his assistant, Paolo Salazar, while riding a transport truck.
The two were slain by motorcycle-riding gunmen who shot the 32-year-old Pastor in the head and neck, while Salazar was shot in the hip.
The truck was carrying a race car to Clark, Pampanga for the continuation of the Asian V8 Championship, which Pastor earlier said he was raring to win in television interviews. The racing event was organized by his father, Tom.
In an interview with Spot.ph's in June last year, Pastor said he abandoned his short-lived attraction to motorcycles as he found them dangerous.
"When I was younger, I had a dirt bike. But, nah. I knew my life would end soon. Kung as a kid, ganun na nga ako, if I stayed on a motorbike, delikado e," he said.
The soft-spoken Pastor also spoke out against undisciplined motorists in Manila streets.
"We'd save so much time kung driving one lane, you see a guy na singit nang singit. He's not really moving, and each time he makes singit, he's slowing everyone else down," he said.
The race car driver joined the relief efforts in Parañaque City after typhoon Maring hit the city.Enzo Pastor's Facebook page
The murder of Pastor shocked Filipinos who swamped Twitter and Facebook with Friday regretting his untimely death.
I'm still in shock. My heart goes out to the family. RIP Enzo Pastor.
— James Deakin (@jdeakin72) June 13, 2014 Run for Enzo Pastor will start at 11pm from Marcos- last stretch of C5 otw back to Shell. #raceinpeace #shelltambay pic.twitter.com/5SjjsqZRkd
— Andre Salvador ツ (@trueblueandreee) June 13, 2014 Shocked this morning to read about Enzo Pastor. We were teammates briefly in Euro NASCAR, really nice guy. RIP buddy
— Niall Quinn (@niall_quinn1) June 13, 2014 His friends from the sport such as Onyl Malabanan and Marc Peter Thomann also changed their profile photos into black ribbons seeking justice for their slain colleague. - Camille Diola
Related: Pastors make name in Nascar Europe, US