Jamila cops Caltex Delo Rainforest Challenge title

With the honor of representing the Philippines in the world off-road championships at stake, the country’s best 4x4 drivers battled it out for five days and 10 gruelling special stages in the final leg of the Caltex Delo Rainforest Challenge in Sierra Madre, Rizal.

Sierra Madre’s slopes, muddy pits, waist-deep river crossings, and tricky rock beds tested the finalists’ skills in the exciting race. But in the end, it was the terrain that was conquered by the gutsy off-roaders who obviously prepared well for the race.

Atoy Jamila of Team Extreme Adventure Motorsports Manila topped the finals with 888 points, a one-point lead over Angeles City 4-Wheelers’ Larry Mendiola, who garnered 887 points. Mendiola’s teammate, Dante Dungca, came in third with 816 points.

Mendiola almost stole the victory from Jamila when he rallied in the final three special stages, only to lose by the slimmest of margins.

"We are ecstatic that we’ve achieved our goal of selecting the best driver to represent the Philippines. Our selection process, which took us to as far as Mindanao, was very challenging for the competitors who all did their best. With Atoy driving for us, we are confident that our performance in Malaysia will be very good," said Jean-Ernest Maningo, Caltex Delo product category manager, during the awarding ceremonies.

Jamila and Mendiola will represent the country in the fifth International Rainforest Challenge in Malaysia this November.