IT is not really much about the keen competition we see each time the Vios Cup is with us. It is more about the very staging of the races than anything that makes the event a class of its own—its prestige unrivalled by any pretender at this stage.
No car race hereabouts has indisputably established itself as the motor sports to watch in recent memory. For, even at a relatively infant stage of its existence, the Vios Cup has already broken barriers, setting a bar that is hard to surpass—nay, even equal.
Thus, when the Vios Cup’s “Final Showdown” is finally flagged off on Saturday, November 25, another chapter of a car chase will have dawned on the motor world that is sure to capture the imagination of every car-racing aficionado in the land.
In this fourth year of the Vios Cup, various lessons had also been learned by racers that should augur well in their muscled drive to gain fame.
Several were drivers who were either penalized or disqualified for offenses mainly related to technicalities and sheer recklessness.
One has been found to have unwittingly placed an unauthorized accessory in his car. He paid dearly for it, as his hard-earned victory was annulled.
Another winner was also disqualified after he was found to have installed what is called a non-OEM (original equipment from manufacturer) part.
There were others with similar infractions, but this one takes the cake: His Round 1 victory in September’s Vios Cup Race 3 was recalled when he raced with a mobile phone in his pocket.
Undaunted, and bent on redeeming himself in the face of his father’s orders to “just go home,” Sean Kieran Velasco of Team Toyota Cebu ran the race of his life to win in his next outing.
Thrown last in Race 2, Velasco started hot from the back and immediately overtook six racers to take third after only three laps.
Grimly determined, Velasco would eventually overhaul erstwhile leader and teammate Oscar Suarez for the most dramatic win yet in the four-year history of the race.
Velasco, Suarez and Toyota Cebu skipper Lord Seno will be the team to beat anew in Saturday’s “The Final Showdown,” which will also feature anew celebrities like Gretchen Ho, Jake Cuenca, Ella Cruz and Aubrey Miles, among others.
And, of course, not to be outdone would be The Obengers Team of Cosco Oben, whose wards Paulo Agregado, Robert Lilles, Keith Bryan Haw, Daniel Miranda, Raymond Ronquillo and Mark Soong pose a formidable challenge due to their vaunted grit and experience.
As usual, the gates at the SMC-Clark International Speedway in Angeles City, Pampanga, open at 8 a.m. on Saturday. Again, admission is free. See you!
The new Innova
TOYOTA has introduced its newest variant in the country’s most popular Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV) segment, the Innova Touring Sport.
To those not yet in the know, Innova is locally manufactured like the Vios; both are the pride and joy of Toyota Motor Philippines for the longest time.
Unleashed in 2005, Innova has consistently garnered the tag as the “best-selling MPV in the Philippines.”
Through the years, the Innova has undergone changes anchored on innovative concepts as it remains dedicated to the ever-changing preferences of customers bent on promoting practicality and functionality with a touch of modern design.
The Touring Sport differentiates itself from its siblings, in that its exterior design highlights a sporty figure in highlighting its youthful looks. It has a new 16-inch matte black alloy wheel, smoked headlamp and a chrome front grille.
The new Innova also comes with its standard features like the anti-theft system, reverse sensors and the door-ajar warning.
The new MPV comes in four shades: Thermalyte, Red Mica Metallic, Blue Mica Metallic and Freedom White.
PEE STOP Look at this: The loss we incur from traffic woes amounts to a staggering P2.4 billion daily for Metro Manila alone! By the Japan International Cooperation Agency’s estimate, the traffic congestion could cost us P6 billion a day by 2030 if we remain unresponsive to the problem….
Congratulations to The Manila Southwoods for its 25th Anniversary Gala Dinner & Awarding Night on November 25. I pray that my Primo Freddie Mendoza, a Southwoods pillar from Day One, would be finally up and about, as his presence is an eternal light to every gathering that Southwoods hosts.