Rivera emerges 2018 autocross, slalom champion
Credit to Author: MIKE POTENCIANO| Date: Sat, 05 Jan 2019 16:22:50 +0000
One of the country’s best race drivers today, Petron lead driver Milo Rivera, bagged his fifth consecutive National Slaloms title and first Autocross Championship after fiercely fought battles last year.
“It was really a difficult year to say the least,” said the Asian Gymkhana champion Rivera. “We normally run the slalom championship only with 12 races a year. With the addition of the autocross, it bumped up our calendar to 20 races, not to mention the other races we had to participate in. In addition, we had bigger cars and up-and-coming drivers to race with, so we had to fight tooth and nail in every race. We praise God that we came up on top, nonetheless.”
Supporting Milo’s spectacular 2018 season were Petron Corporation, Federal tires, PPC Asia, United Auctioneers Inc., and Auto Performance–Brembo. Rivera was battling the phenomenal father and son Anton team of multi-titled Carlos and 14- year old Iñigo the whole year. The three living legends made both series very exciting.
Unknown to many, the old 1980s Toyota Starlet that Rivera was using since the start of his slalom days was already experiencing numerous problems during the extended race calendar. “We did have several issues especially in the middle part of the season. The car was showing signs of fatigue given its age, and the number of races it had to endure. These problems came up at the wrong time and resulted in repairs rather than upgrades,” explained Milo.
“The worst part was during the slalom race in Tarlac when chassis problems prevented us from competing for the top. Good thing toward November-December, right at the end of the season, we got each of the puzzle piece fit perfectly together and finish the year with a bang,” he added.
Rivera is now looking forward to new challenges in 2019. “We hope we could take on a different path. Slalom and autocross may have to take a back seat for now, but we will have to see, as it is still too early to tell. However, we’re very optimistic with the opportunities ahead.”
“I would definitely like to thank our Heavenly Father and my family for making us all strong and determined to work hard given the roller coaster ride of a season. Thank you to my crew that never gave up bringing back the car to its peak shape. It’s sad that the driver is the only one given credit for the victories earned, but I really want to highlight their relentless passion and hard work so we could win both championships this year,” he added.
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