Races like we have never seen before
Credit to Author: MIKE POTENCIANO| Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2019 16:24:45 +0000
To our regular readers and fans of Turbo Times, you already know that our very own Petron Rally of Champions started a new, unique format that was never seen before in our country and around the world. We combined 10 different racing disciplines into one series and made it the decathlon of motor sports!
We saw the best racing champions, of different generations, battle it out in the same cars with a format that made it equal for anyone to win. We are proud that after a long wait in making the ROC happen, it was a great success and we are now looking at a bigger 2019 season. We are also hoping to get international drivers to join us and even bring the ROC in the Asean region in the future!
We are also happy to come across new and not so new races that we hope we can get to see in the country soon. Here are just some of them and they are exciting events to follow.
Dakar Rally
This very demanding, cross-country event used to be called the Paris to Dakar Rally. This very grueling 10,000-mile rally started back in 1978 and usually brought all kinds of vehicles to the capital of Senegal, Dakar. From cars, bikes, trucks, prototypes and whatever you can create, the Dakar rally became an annual event through the efforts of French racer Thierry Sabine.
This became the ultimate test of man and machine attracted big companies worldwide to prove that they are the best at what they do. The event is also full of tragedies, including Sabine’s own life when his helicopter crashed in 1986 in a sudden sand storm during the event.
After terrorists made the event very risky to run in the African continent in 2008, there was a change of venue to the South Americas. The new home was a great blessing as the peoples of Argentina, Peru, Bolivia and other countries really welcome the event with open arms. Tens of thousands line up the streets and follow it firsthand with millions watching and reading it on social media.
This year, we have posted the Dakar highlights on our Facebook account to give it the right exposure it needs. Our hidden agenda is to make a Philippine Dakar Rally soon and get the cars, bikes, pick-ups and any vehicle in our natural rally venues. We also hope that we can get a Philippine Team to rally in the real Dakar Rally and maybe even join myself. That will be the best ever goal to motivate us to do it!
TCR Asia
One of the better racing series launched worldwide is the TCR Championship. This is a touring car championship that keeps the cost of cars more affordable than the premiere World Touring Car Championship. The organizers also make the cars available to all through the car manufacturers or their tuning shops.
The cars are sold between GBP 70,000-90,000 and the development is limited to make it equal for all participants. This series has now diversified to our Asian region and is now in Malaysia, Thailand, Korea and China. It is becoming a good breeding ground for upcoming touring and endurance car racers, including teams that also employ Filipinos in their squads.
The participating manufacturers are Volkswagen, Honda, Seat, and many are joining this year. The car is all limited to 300 hp with their 2.0 liter, turbocharged engines and is checked before and after the races for equality amongst each participating car.
For this year, our very own Daniel Miranda will be competing with the Eurasia Motorsports Team of Mark Goddard. Miranda was a champion karter, Toyota Vios Cup 2017 champion and had a great run in the Asian Formula Renault last year with the same Eurasia team. We hope to see him achieve great heights, as he is really a very talented driver.
Rallycross and rallies
I remember when we started rallying; we joined the small events called Rallycross to practice. Soon, we found out that the true Rallycross globally were head to head racing on dirt and they had a lot of rally cars bumping each other.
The cars that made an impression on me were the late Group B cars that were even more powerful than what they rallied on. They had so much power that just keeping them on the dirt track with another car trying to take the same patch was always going to produce exciting races!
This will be a great discipline to push, as it is very exciting. This will also complement our goal to revive rallying and have started our Dirt Trials in our ROC. I believe by this year, we will be able to see a really good rally to be proud of!
Let’s all support our races and get our top champions into the international racing arena. Godspeed everyone!
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