this is what i heard....  noel bartolome, the two time driver of the year, winner of the 2nd tough truck challenge and driver of Caltex Delo, boycotted the first pampanga off road challenge because he is friends with noel castro who are in war with PORCI.  

can anybody confirm what i heard.  

he is known to do this kind of things to many offroaders and races.  this is not the first time he has done such a thing.  you can ask freeman, wolf den and many more offroaders nationwide.  

i think offroaders and the like should know of this.  if anyone heard any thrash about this person, please write it down.  i know a lot of us would like to hear.  

Everyone seemed to wonder why a prominent competitor and personality in the offroad community, such as Noel, did not compete last weekend.

I do not have an explanation in his behalf, nor do I have any speculations or gossip about his absence.

Rock Crawler, judging by your sentiments it is now obvious which group you are associated with. Please, let us not be judgemental towards him. This is after all a gentlemans sport, criticisms of a personal nature would be more appropriate in a private venue with the concerned parties.

Noel Bartolome is one of the pioneers of this sport we love. He has won countless competitions and was twice honored by representing the country in international competitions. Inspite of his veteran status and age, he still has what it takes to take on the young guns and bring home the trophy.

His prominence in the community makes him a target for rumor mongers and, sad to say, parasites who use him for their personal or organizational gain.

For the record I have nothing but respect and admiration for this man, sentiments formed and catalyzed by spending 10 grueling days in the rainforests of Malaysia with him. In one of the RFC socials, only Noel and I were the last men standing after a huge beer binge with officials and competitors from the USA, Australia, South Africa, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, Itlay, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Alcohol starved from days of isolation in the jungle, and euphoric from the high level of competition, we became berserkers. We drank till the last available drop of beer was served in that hotel resort.

No matter the circumstance, it'll be very difficult for me to change my views towards him.

Quote from: FReeMaN on March 11, 2003, 07:08:44 PM
In one of the RFC socials, only Noel and I were the last men standing after a huge beer binge with officials and competitors from the USA, Australia, South Africa, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, Itlay, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Alcohol starved from days of isolation in the jungle, and euphoric from the high level of competition, we became berserkers. We drank till the last available drop of beer was served in that hotel resort.

Freeman,

Hey dude! i just remembered i owe you a can of beer from last sat! should i make it a barrel? nagpaparinig ka ata eh.hehehe

I may not know Noel Bartolome much, but i give him my highest respect.

I think an off-roader should still be given freedom to choose whether he wishes to join or not, and not be judges by someone else.

The spirit of four-wheeler is to unite and form camaradere among four-wheelers and not by making criticism.

Sad to say there's a group that makes bad criticism among fellow-off-roader.  It's even worst that someone else makes such remarks even if they are not present in the events, and such gossips is far away from the truth.

Like freeman said, If you have problems with Noel, it would be better to settle it with him privately and not on this forum.

I agree. why do people question someone's decision not to join a race or event? don't they have the freedom to choose what they want to do?

I think it would be better to focus more on our own lives than to gossip about what other people decide to do, or not to do.

well, i do respect his talent, but, for the love of the sport, why pull it down.  one should not call people and join his crusade in boycotting certain event.  

i agree that he is a very good offroader but a very bad politician.  

people texted, called and emailed me regarding this matter and for the longest time i felt that fellow offroaders should know what kind of a person he is.  he hide behind the quiet shy type person but a very close friend of his is the one telling me this.  of all the years i known him, saw him use people (i was one of them!) he should be known.  we, offroaders usually just want to enjoy the growing sport or hobby, not being PLASTIC to each other. (i hate plastic people).  and for the record, this is my opinion and each one has the right to theirs.

NO! rock crawler, not every body wants to know and talk about such pety things as Noels non presence during the event!!!! As for the "Gamitan" galit lang ang "Nagamit" kung hindi nya nakuha ang gusto nya. at the end of the day "Caveat Emptor" Pwede ba tama na ang pulitika dyan ITS ONLY A SPORT!!!!!!  there is more to life than pety quarrels in this sport GET A LIFE !!!!!!!!
nakakaawa naman ang mga tao na 4x4 at 4x4 lang umiikot ang mundo nila!!!!!!!!! pati maliit na bagay pinalalaki pa. talo pa ninyo si Boy Abunda sa intrigahan.

 You have to respect other peoples decision ........ he may have justifiable reasons which we do not know. It seems you have a personal grudge with noel...... you should be man enough to settle the difference with him personally.... my apology to my words.

 This board is healthy enough to control those who wanted to use this board to attack other person.  We also have here some difference in opinions, I would say that is normal.  However your concerns to Noel has nothing to do with us here in AI, the problem has not started in this board so its JUST PROPER TO SPARE THE BOARD FROM THIS INTRIGUE OF YOURS.  

 Thanks for reminding us on the actuations of the person......

the thing is that some of you AI guy and most of the offroader doesnt know what he has done or been doing.  what i'm trying to do is letting people know what kind of a person he is so none of you guy and fellow offroaders should experience the pain.  i have known noel for a long time and have seen what he had done.  

the fact is, that i dont really care if he shows up to compete.  the way i see it, if he's not there, the bigger the chance of everybody to win.  he is a very good driver, but what he had done before really hurt the community of offroaders.  not to mention sponsors and many many beginners.  i like whats going on with this AI group and  feel that alot of you guys are learning.  i'm also impress with freeman and johnq knowlegde and spending the time to educate you guys.  i myself have learn something here also.    

by the way, i know for sure that some of you guys were touch with his magical mind. so please dont tell me not to use this board. (you dont own it).  i will continue to write whatever i think that will educate the offroad community.

Rock Crawler : by all means, please express your own opinions - this board will be boring if everyone thinks and writes in unison.

I hope this does not discourage you.

Rockcrawler,

Just a backgrounder. Was Noel part of that ECL store or something?

Land Cruiser Club of the Philippines President, Nas Ona, visited my office just a few minutes ago.

Noel Bartolome is a founding member and officer of this club.

Their official statement is that they, nor any of their members, did NOT boycott the PORCI event. They actually had a team that participated - headed by Dexter Tang. They planned to field 2 teams, but one of the vehicles was not prepared on time.

Quote from: t-rx879 on March 11, 2003, 08:49:22 PM

Quote from: FReeMaN on March 11, 2003, 07:08:44 PM
In one of the RFC socials, only Noel and I were the last men standing after a huge beer binge with officials and competitors from the USA, Australia, South Africa, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, Itlay, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Alcohol starved from days of isolation in the jungle, and euphoric from the high level of competition, we became berserkers. We drank till the last available drop of beer was served in that hotel resort.

Freeman,

Hey dude! i just remembered i owe you a can of beer from last sat! should i make it a barrel? nagpaparinig ka ata eh.hehehe

DUDE, WHERES MY BEER?!?!?

ROCK CRAWLER:

Your right, we do not own this talkboard, but as much as posible, we try not to write if we have noting good to write.


I think it's not a good idea, if you made promise to sponsors and participants, that Noel will be coming without a contract or compensation to Noel.  If you use Noel as an advertisement of a race ,he should received compensation for it and have him signed a contract otherwise it wont be binding, and he is not obliged to participate on such event.

I cant understand how the beginners will be hurt without Noel's presence, unless you promise them to join because they will be competing against Noel.

I join 4x4 event to enjoy and have some fun.  If I win, that will be added bonus, but i do not put it in my head that when i drive, i want to beat some celebrity drivers, this will just result to frustration.

If a beginners want to beat Noel, I think he as just 2 options, either time catches up with Noel or Macarena wont start.

Let not forget that we are here to enjoy without hurting someone else.  If you have nothing so say good, just keep it to yourself.

Rockcrawler,

You are free to voice your opinions.  That's the beauty of the free world.   We will not police your thoughts as much as we will not police the thoughts of those who disagree with you.

However, if you think Noel has done you wrong then just say it bluntly instead of feeling out what others think about him.  I'm not a big believer in moderation and I'd call a spade a spade.  

As for me, I know Noel but I can't say were best of friends cause I've never really gotten to know him.  I've had a few beers with him and talked about LCs and Aurora Province.  For me, he's an amiable guy.  

If you're going to fully reveal Noel's sins, just make sure it's based on substantiated fact and not mere hearsay or gossip.  I emphasize "fact" because the guy isn't a member of this talkboard and will not be able to reason back and defend from your allegations.  We wouldn't want him unfairly judged because of mere hearsay.