Be safe and enjoy your trip

The yearly exodus for the countryside is on. Those who go for road travel have their sights to as far north as the "sagadas" and to as far as the scenic Mayon volcano to those who opt for the south. With the President GMA’s ‘Nautical Highway’, the prospects to the south can a lot farther and more challenging.

One of the best guarantees for an enjoyable trip is to be sure that it’ll be a safe one all the way to your destination. Safe not only in terms of your manner of driving but also of equal importance is the soundness of your vehicle.

If you are not on the road yet, it may be a good idea to first drive to the nearest service station and have your vehicle checked for roadworthiness (breaks, lights, oils, tires, etc.). If you are already on the road, you can still do this considering that there is now an abundance of gasoline stations dotting our highways. It’s better to be a little late in your travel schedule than not to reach your destination at all.

Something basic that you can check yourself is whether you have everything in the "must bring" list when going on a long trip. Some of these include; complete set of basic tools (screwdriver, pliers, tire wrench, jack, etc), a properly inflated spare tire, first aid kit, spare fuses, spare hose, electrical tape, towing rope (at least 3 meters), flashlight, water and other things that would come to your mind that you think would be useful especially when an unwanted situation like getting stalled in a dark road for quite a while presents itself. But in bringing things just make sure you limit these to the barest that would not cause unwanted additional weight to your vehicle.

Another safety aspect that should never be overlooked when you travel is to make sure the driver and all passengers are properly belted. The seat belts cannot give you a 100 percent unscathed guarantee in the event of a major accident but I’ll guarantee you that you’ll have more injuries if you don’t have them on.

And my final advice to all drivers is to give way to others, especially the pedestrians. Have that frame of mind instead of wanting to be ahead of everybody else. Believe me, you’ll get to your destination faster that way. Forget about right of way, nothing like defensive driving. And most of all, enjoy the trip–going there can be as much fun as reaching it.

Ford helps racing wannabees

Now you don’t have to be a rich family’s scion to go into car racing. If you have the inclination, Ford Group Philippines and Tuason Racing School (TRC) have joined hands to give you racing lessons and let you compete in an actual circuit race at a fraction of the actual cost.

"We believe that racing is one discipline that Filipinos can be superior in. We want to be able to help reach that goal," was the rationale of Ford’s very charming and ever-active assistant vice president for marketing and communications, Ms. Maricar Cristobal-Parco for the American assembler’s commitment to grow homegrown racing talents.

Hopefuls can attend Basic and Advance racing classes that will start on May 31 and will continue on once a month before they can compete in the TRS-Ford Lynx Cup, a one make race series for novices at the Batangas Racing Circuit scheduled on July 27, 2003.

Graduates can rent any of the 8 school cars for a fraction of the cost to go racing. The package will include the whole weekend–Friday practice, Saturday and Sunday races plus tires, consumables, etc. Participants need only to bring their helmets and guts.

The system of the race series is that all cars are set up similarly and is kept by the school and competitors will draw on which cars to use on Friday morning before the practice. This way the integrity of the series as a platform for all skill racing is kept as mechanical advantage is ruled out and everything boils down to how good the race driver is.

Formula One notes

A slight (but in many ways, major) change was made in the roster of winners of the Brazilian Grand Prix. Giancarlo Fisichella of Jordan Ford was named the rightful winner in Interlagos by the FIA Friday, after admitting that they committed a timing error. Fisi had already started the 56th lap when the red flag was waved thus obliterating the earlier claim made by the officials that the race ended in Lap 55. This was Fisico’s first GP win after 110 races and Jordan’s first victory in 200 attempts. McLaren Mercedes and Kimi Raikkonen however were gracious in defeat as they congratulated Giancarlo and admitted that he should have been declared the winner.

The Tifosi will have to wait a little longer before Ferrari unveils their 2003 car. Several press releases originally claimed that it was going to be put to the test in Imola come the 20th of April, but team boss Jean Todt said that they have decided to wait until the Spanish Grand Prix to ensure the reliability of the vehicle.

Michael Schumacher said he is not at all worried about the fact that Kimi’s lead over him has ballooned to 18 points. He argued that there were still 13 races remaining and countless chances for him to grab the lead. Hardcore F1 fans aren’t too sure however, as it would be much harder for him to swing back into contention for the top spot because of the new points system. Remember Schumi, the difference between 1st and 2nd place is a mere 2 points.

Fernando Alonso’s fans can breathe a sigh of relief as the Spaniard was released from the hospital practically unscathed. He admitted that it was, by far, the worst accident he ever encountered in his career.

Word from the pit lane has it that Ralf Schumacher may be in danger of being replaced by BMW-Williams test driver Marc Gene if he doesn’t get his act together. Ralf has noticeably been pulling out mediocre performances since the start of the season and has only 8 points to show for himself. Williams is only in 4th place in the Constructor’s Championship — a far cry from how impressive they were last year. He won in Imola last year, and we’ll see if he can duplicate that feat on Sunday.

Imola is considered by many as Ferrari’s home track and people are anxious to see Schumi and Rubens weave their magic this year. Expect to see dozens upon dozens of Prancing Horse flags floating on a massive sea of red in the stands. Mark your calendars folks, the San Marino Grand Prix will be aired on Easter Sunday over Star Sports. Will McLaren continue to lord it over the competition or will the racing giant that is Ferrari wake up from its uncharacteristic slumber? Will Ralf prove his detractors wrong and leave his opponents eating his dust? And most importantly, will this race equal, or even surpass, the heart stopping excitement of the Brazilian GP?

Can’t wait till Sunday.

Motoring Today at 1 pm this Easter

Those who are into the "Sunday viewing habit" of the TV show Motoring Today (Channel 4 Manila and nationwide on the National Broadcasting Network) may have to wait a little while as Channel 4 airs some Easter activities prior to this week’s airing. This Sunday’s broadcast of the 15-year old institution on Philippine television is scheduled at 1 o’clock in the afternoon just after your Easter lunch.

This Sunday car-loving viewers would feast their eyes on the latest model Subaru Forester on Showcase while for motor sports lovers we would have an international karting event featured on Race Weekend and for Motoring Today’s weekly Public Service we shall tackle a motoring problem referred to us by one of our viewers regarding an illegal parking terminal near the SLEX’s Sucat Interchage exit. Don’t fail to watch.

Happy Motoring!!!

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