Kia finishes 2nd in Auto Rally

MANILA, Philippines - Team Kia bagged the first runner-up honors in the 2011 STV Auto Rally Corporate Challenge (ARCC) held in Subic recently.

Aboard two Kia Sorentos and a Kia Soul, the team, composed of Denise Santos, Tet Andolong, Raul Asuncion, Lester Dizon, Shawie Dizon, Steve Acayan, Patrick Tadeo, Ronald delos Reyes and Bernie Santos, navigated the circuitous and tricky route within the SBMA laid out and designed by George Ramirez, ARCC rally director and chief steward.

“This is team effort at its best,” said Ginia Domingo, the new president of Columbian Autocar Corporation (CAC), authorized distributor of Kia in the Philippines. “I congratulate all the members of Team Kia for a job well done. They brought honor to the company by doing their homework and doing it well.”

“We could be happier had we won the top spot,” said Andolong. “There were certain lapses and confusion with some field marshals especially in the reporting of the nominated time which affected the overall team performance. But this is all in the game.”

A take-off from the popular Sampaguita Rally in the 60s, the ARCC this year drew the leading automotive industry players, members of the motoring media, and motoring enthusiasts representing 15 corporate teams and distributors.

The ARCC is “more of a precision driving event rather than a time-attack competition,” said Butch Gamboa, the event organizer.

“It requires participants to navigate a pre-set route within a given time frame. Winning is not about speed, but having to finish the rally within the target time determines the winner,” said Gamboa.

He described the event as “instilling road safety awareness through skillful driving within legal speeds and time management. The ARCC is a competition among teams, each having drivers and navigators pitting their driving skills, accurate reading of road signs and symbols and being on time all the time at any point of the given route.”

Apart from CAC-Kia, the other participants were Audi/Porsche, BMW, Chevrolet, Ford/Mazda, Honda, Hyundai, Isuzu, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan-NMPI, Subaru, Toyota, UMC-Nissan and Volvo.