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WHEN
Andy Sevilla and I won the Honda Challenge Cup last
week, I couldn’t believe it.
First, I
was a rookie. Beginner’s luck did it?
Second,
there was no manual to lean on—a formula for victory was
nowhere to be found for such an event.
Third,
it was my first team-up with Andy in a race uniquely
dubbed as “eco-run” (fuel economy run).
Thankfully, Andy was a veteran of many road races of
this type initiated by Honda Cars Philippines Inc.
Right
after we crossed the finish line, Andy said, “It would
be a major upset if we lost this one.”
He was
exceedingly confident when he said that. And I could
honestly sense he was right. With the way Andy handled
the run, no way we could ever lose.
Driven
to perfection, Andy, whom I fondly call “Andy Baby” for
his cool demeanor and somewhat easygoing ways, was all
pumped up for the competition.
He came
well-prepared, to begin with.
He wore
light clothing and loose, flesh-colored shorts with a
matching cool T-shirt provided by Honda Cars’ Tintin
Reyes, Sheryl de los Santos and Tricia Kiocho, the
endlessly lovable angels of Honda big shot Arnel Doria.
“The
extra-loose pair of shorts is for a relaxed, uninhibited
leg and knee movement when I’m behind the wheel,” said
Andy, who came wearing aqua shoes.
“For
constant feel of the gas pedal, which needs the
slightest touch to avoid sudden bursts of speed,” he
said of his blue and yellow aqua shoes.
From the
moment we sat down to discuss our strategy and tactics
minutes before the start of the competition, there was
no doubting Andy Baby would be in command of the
steering wheel.
“No,
Señor, you be at the wheel,” he protested.
“Of
course not,” I said. “With your wealth of experience,
the car should be literally yours.”
“Okay, I
will agree on one condition,” he said. “We switch places
after the first leg of the race. You are the navigator
now, but you will drive in the second leg.”
“For
now, okay,” I said, tongue in cheek.
Our car
was the Honda City 1.5.
The
first leg was from the Petron gas station in C-5 to the
Petron gas station in Nlex (North Expressway)—a distance
of 35.5 km.
We first
covered The Fort, emerging through McKinley Road in
Forbes Park, crossing Edsa toward Ayala Avenue, then
turning right on Gil Puyat Avenue (Buendia), going all
the way down to Edsa en route to Balintawak for the
entry into Nlex.
With
Andy Baby’s near-flawless style of car handling, the
ride to the finish was almost hitch-free.
Our gas
consumption? Only 1.23 liters for the 35.5-km trip
dubbed City Driving!
With
that, we established a big lead over our main rival
going to the second part of the competition.
At lunch
at Pancake House at Petron Nlex, Andy Baby was ecstatic.
We gave
each other a high-five, after which I told him: “Andy
Baby, my suggestion is, we don’t switch places. You
remain behind the wheel, and I will continue to be the
team’s navigator.”
He was
hesitant, and I understood. But after some explaining,
he agreed.
The
clincher was, “Hey, Andy Baby, why change horses in
midstream? Why change a seemingly winning formula?”
When he
finally relented, I knew we were on our way to victory.
The
second leg, called Highway Driving, saw us consume only
1.42 liters for the 69.5-km journey at Nlex ending in
the Dau-Petron gas station in Mabalacat, Pampanga.
Adding
our 1.23 liters in the first leg, we totaled 2.65 liters
for the total trip of 105 km.
Andy and
I then decided to proceed to our villa at Montevista in
Clark—not bothering to check anymore with the race
officials whether we really won or not.
Said
Andy Baby on our way to
Clark: “I guess
you are right, Señor. It’d be a major upset if we lost
the fight.”
Okay, we
won and, modesty aside, we emerged overall champions,
too—even beating smaller and therefore supposed-to-be
thriftier gas-consuming cars like the Honda Jazz 1.3 in
the 14-team competition.
“I’d
been to so many competitions, but definitely, this one
stands out, Señor,” Andy said. “A new star in team-car
racing is born!”
This was
the 7th Honda Challenge Cup, an event that challenges
you to be really creative and innovative in vanquishing
the vagaries of vehicle handling by licking traffic
jams, outwitting drivers with wicked ways on the road
and sticking to a lane/path that weans you away from too
many unforced stops and unnecessary braking.
Arnel
Doria was right: “Driver, fuel and vehicle. These are
the main ingredients to achieve safe and fuel-economy
driving.”
Amen,
and you know what?
One of
our victims was the highly touted gas-miser Honda Civic
Hybrid, but then, that’s another story.
****
Pee
stop:
Mayo celebrates his birthday today, May 2. Happy
birthday! Mayo’s household is doubly overjoyed because,
with the grace of God, the kid continues to strongly
recover from Kawasaki Disease. Kawasaki, the almost
no-cure illness whose cause remains unknown today, hit
Mayo almost three years ago. As usual, prayer power did
wonders and, with Padre Pio’s intercession, keyed Mayo’s
miraculous rebound from the pits. |
