Coffee Table Talk

If you happened to read this article hoping for your usual dose of traffic bashing, I would have to apologize in advance for letting you down.  The reason why I won’t be hitting on the usual ineptitude of certain sectors of society is because I had the rare opportunity to sit down and talk to the vanguards of Cebu motorsports over a cup of coffee with a little of each one’s preferred spirits on the side.  Our discussion covered everything from the NASCAR fiasco to the possibly inevitable death of motorsports in our country. 

Over a month ago, there was so much cheering when it was announced that a Philippine contingent will be sent to the United States of America to compete in a twelve-nation NASCAR tournament.  For those who aren’t too familiar with this redneck sport, it is car racing involving around one thousand five hundred left turns in a span of two hours.  After the announcement that a Filipino had made it to the driver program of a Formula One team, this news was a further adrenaline shot into the lifeblood of Philippine motorsports.  Sadly, we were injected with tainted adrenaline and the whole event turned out to be a scam perpetrated by a guy who preyed on the eagerness of motorsports enthusiasts to climb up the racing ladder. 

It was bad enough that they didn’t get a chance to actually compete in the so-called, non-existent event.  Sources have claimed that the participants also got duped to the tune of two million pesos each.  Knowing that there were around four drivers who were part of team Philippines, some con artist is eight million pesos richer now.

According to one of the petrol heads I talked to, one of the reasons the Philippine team got swindled out of their hard earned cash was because of their eagerness to move into higher, more established forms of motorsports.  These racing enthusiasts have the drive, passion and hunger to be part of the world’s best with one goal in mind: to hear the Lupang Hinirang playing over the loud speakers during the crowning of the race champion.  We had a taste of such glory when Marlon Stockinger won the GP3 race in prestigious Monaco. 

One may ask why these racers have to travel abroad to pursue their dreams when there are local races being held in the five purpose-built circuits in the country.  According to another petrol head in our table, there are two reasons why this is so.  One reason is the “king of the backyard” mentality.  When you are stuck competing with the same people over and over, your racecraft learning plateaus and you will only get as good as the second best guy on the track.  When you travel abroad, there is a big possibility that you will be whitewashed by the competition.  “Professional” basketball anyone?

The second reason is the good old crab mentality.  Many times, professional race organizers spend a great amount of time and money to put up professional-grade races to scout for talent.  They would make sure their venues are homologated and certified by the real governing bodies of motorsports.  They would also make sure that their events are properly sanctioned by these governing bodies.  Sadly, there are a few notorious fly-by-night motorsports organizers who would push, bend, break and ignore the rules up to the fifth gear just to make a quick buck.  Yes, their more affordable events encourage many participants and sponsors to flock to their events, but true petrol heads know that these are purely mickey mouse events that won’t carve a real future for the eager youngsters who put in their hard earned money to excel.  And once the participants and sponsors find out that they’ve been duped, they lick their wounds and walk away.

Before we called it a day, we all agreed that It is the total lack of vigilance and support by the government that contributes to all this.  Pinoys have the talent and the skills.  Sadly, we’re no azkals and are just about as popular as the country’s rugby team that actually has a spot in the upcoming world cup.  Did you even know that?