City Rally Sprint

Nothing beats nocturnal activities. Darkness-with all its illicit, sinister, and therefore exciting, connotations-brings an added dimension to any activity, heightening the senses and lending an edgy, almost stygian tone. Now when said activity involves remote locations, the tight confines of a car’s interior, and duos of warm bodies, things certainly get interesting. Throw in a substantial dose of precipitation, and it’s noir as it gets.

Held on the drenched, dreary, but adrenaline-charged night of July 28 at Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club in General Trias, Cavite, was the third and last round of the City Rally Sprint. The event, which is run alongside the national rally series, pits 16 members of the media and Honda execs in an honest-to-goodness motor race. All the participants of the City Rally Sprint are veterans of the Honda Media Challenge, a dirt trial driving affair where the media folks-turned-rally drivers honed their skills.

Driving identical 1.5-liter Honda City Type Z VTEC rally cars, the participants are broken into four teams, each with four members. Teammates decided which among them drove or co-drove, and which stages of the rally one had tackled.

The first round of the Rally Sprint was held in the mountains of Tanay, Rizal, while the next was run inside the Naval Mag in Subic, Zambales. In Tanay, it was a classic hard-mountain-wall-on-one-side-and-a-cliff-on-the-other rally on slippery dirt roads, while the Subic gig involved terrifyingly fast runs on twisty, narrow concrete trails with little room for error snaking through a maze-like course.

But the third round was the toughest. For one, the course was no less fast and tricky-and was infinitely more labyrinthine. Making matters worse were the eight-inch high concrete curbs that line the entire route of the rally. These curbs require slot-car precision driving, since a wheel coming into contact with one can send a driver to probe the aerobatic qualities of his car. Now add to that the aforementioned factors of rain and darkness.

Emerging victorious in Round 3 was Team White. Thanks to the superb driving skills of Anjo Perez (Manila Bulletin), the team pulled off a hard-earned comeback victory, having suffered a setback in the second round, placing dead last in Subic. Of course, the efforts of Tintin Reyes (Honda), who served as Perez’s co-driver throughout the race series cannot be denied, as were those of Arnold Belleza (Business World) and Erle Sebastian (Today/Rev).

Team White, which also logged the best times in Round 1, deservedly took the top honors for the entire City Rally Sprint series.

Finishing second in Round 3 was the ever-consistent and well-prepared Team Orange. Banking on the steady driving of Aris Ilagan (Manila Bulletin) and the co-driving skills of Tammy Mendoza (The Philippine Star), the team also took third-place honors in Round 1, while claiming the top spot in Round 2.

Together with Marvin Tort (Business World) and Honda’s main man, AVP for corporate communications Arnel Doria, Team Orange clinched a close second overall spot in the City Rally Sprint. The team also holds the distinction of having finished the series with nary a scratch on their Honda City.

In contention for top honors up until the last stage of Round 3 was Team Black, who failed to finish the last round courtesy of an unscheduled sortie through the bushes. Sharing driving chores for the team were Andy Leuterio (The Philippine Star/Gadgets), Jess Garcia (DZRH), and this writer. Meanwhile, Ron de los Reyes (Auto Review) opted to co-drive for the length of the series.

Team Black consistently finished in second spot for two rounds before the unexpected last round non-finish. The team, though, managed to secure third-place overall in the City Rally Sprint.

Another non-finisher in Round 3 was Team Red. Suffering from a mechanical setback, the team failed to nurse the car to the finish line to earn some much-needed points. Actually, the team has had its fair share of misfortunes. In Round 1, the team also failed to finish due to a spectacular spill. In Round 2, though, the team placed third.

Team Red is made up of Manny de los Reyes (The Philippine Star/Gadgets), Butch Gamboa (The Philippine Star/ Motoring Today), Milo Cacanindin (ABS-CBN), and Ronnie Romero (Business World).

Sponsored by Honda Cars Philippines, the City Rally Sprint was organized by ADBM Resources, Roadwise Motoring School and Activity Asia Association. Eight-time rally champ Vip "Coach" Isada, was responsible for training the participants, thus unwittingly creating monsters with an insatiable lust for motorsports-aside from nocturnal activities.