In the pre-race briefing and press presentation of the 2003 Civic held last March 29 at the Skyline of the World Trade Center, Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) president and general manager Mitsunari Takano announced that the Media Challenge will be using the new 2003 Civic as the official race vehicle, replacing the venerable Honda City that was used during the first five seasons. He also looked forward to the races as a participant and promised to give the media personnel a strong challenge.
For his part, Arnel Doria, HCPI’s deputy head for marketing, thanked the media personnel for their continued participation in the Media Challenge and promised that this will be a more exciting season. He added that the Civic has 127hp compared to the 105hp of the City and admonished them to summon all the skills they’ve learned in the past 5 years to unleash the extra horses of the Civic.
After lunch, the Media Challenge participants were given a "refresher" course and fun run by ten-time national rally champion and Media Challenge race director Vip Isada. The short dirt track course was topped by Dodjie Aguila of Today (39.13 seconds), followed by James Deakin of C! Magazine (39.34), and Anjo Perez of Manila Bulletin (39.57). Ivan Isada clocked a mid-36 second lap to show the participants how professionals do it.
The Philippine Star team will be composed of Manny delos Reyes, Brian Afuang, Andy Leuterio and this writer. The Media Challenge is organized by ADBM Resources, in partnership with Activity Asia Association and Roadwise Motoring School, and sponsored by Caltex Havoline, Michelin Tires, Nodalo’s trading and Aitech. – Lester Dizon