Upsets mark Round 3 of Honda Media Challenge

Business Mirror took Round 3 of the 2007 Honda Media Challenge held last December 8 at the FTI Complex in Taguig City, in an upset win over perennial leader Top Gear, who finished third behind AutoReview.

The Business Mirror team, composed of Andy Sevilla, Randy Cabañgon and Dino Datu, clocked in the best time of the day, at 3:57.02. Auto Review, with drivers Ronald de los Reyes, Kit Joaquin and Alvin Ng, came in with 3:59.02. Meanwhile, Top Gear's Beeboy Bargas, Paulo Subido and Carmela Ortiz squeaked in a 4:09.71 time, to just make it to the final podium position. Close behind at 4:09.82 was Autoindustriya, made up of Brent Co, Vic Rosales and Rick Wee.

The rest of the teams brought in the following results: Motoring Today (4:12.74), FM Radio (5:11.09), DZRH (05:17.07), AM Radio (5:24.45), Gadgets (5:49.37), Manila Standard Today (6:50.78), and BusinesWorld (07.19.76).

In the motoring category, Alan Sevilla, host of NU107's Counterflow also pulled an upset, by turning in the best time of 1:11.40, beating motoring veterans Paulo Subido (1:12.29 / Top Gear), Manny de los Reyes (1:13.20 / Speed Magazine), Ferman Lao (1:13.89 / Kotse.Com) and Jeff Reyes (1:15.19 / The Philippine Star).

For the Honda Club opening race, Onyl Malabanan once again brought in the best time of 1:18.50, beating Emong Ang's 1:19.98 and Logan Oliva's 1:22.48.

Departing from the circuit format of the past two seasons, the 2007 Honda Media Challenge was designed as an Autokhana, combining the autocross and gymkhana motorsport disciplines. This format evened out the competition since emphasis was on driver skill and vehicle handling, combining both speed and precision driving. The challenge and excitement came from the ingenious track layouts with many twists and turns, which required strong mental concentration.

Six Honda Jazz VTEC 1500 manual transmission units were equipped with roll cages, racing seat and five-point harness for use as official competition vehicles. The vehicles were fitted with Yokohama Tires, while the batteries were courtesy of Motolite "Trusted na pangmatagalan."

The official fuel for the 2007 season was the new Petron XCS Complete Combustion System, a special formulation customized for Philippine driving conditions. The first gasoline powered by premium organic enhancers, Petron XCS delivers smoother acceleration and optimized power by keeping your engine clean and maximizing fuel consumption.

Other sponsors included Honda Philippines, Inc. for the generator sets, Pagcor Sports, JVC Mobile Entertainment Systems, Art & Image Technology for the car stickers, and IgerTech for the timing device and scoring system.

The Honda Media Challenge is an annual club event sanctioned by the Automobile Association Philippines (AAP) and organized by ADBM Resources. For more information about the event, call 9206944 or visit www.mediachallenge.info.