second in Honda Media Challenge

THE 2007 edition of the Honda Media Challenge got off to a fiery start with a new autokhana format, which combined the autocross and gymkhana disciplines, requiring both speed and precision driving from media participants, last weekend at the FTI Complex in Taguig City.

After the heat of the simmering sun subsided and the heated competition ended, Top Gear Magazine nipped BusinessMirror in what was seen as the closest finish ever in the first leg of the annual competition sponsored by Honda Cars Philippines Inc. and Petron XCS, among others.

Led by 4x4 expert Beeboy Bargas and backstopped by Paolo Subido and Carmela Ortiz, Top Gear Magazine logged an aggregate best team time of 6:36.21 minutes—just .16 of a second ahead of the 6:36.37 logged by the second-running BusinessMirror trio of Andy Sevilla, Randy Cabangon and Dino Datu.

“The result was so close and this only goes to show that we really have a very exciting series ahead of us that was brought about by the new racing format,” said Belle Alba of ADBM Resources, which organized the club event sanctioned by the Automobile Association Philippines (AAP).

It was also Bargas who topped the individual category as he submitted the best time of 1:59.79. In close second and third were former Honda Media Challenge champions Anjo Perez of Manila Bulletin (who clocked 2:00.56) and Philippine Star’s Jeff Reyes (2:08.48).

Third overall in the team event was Auto­Review composed of Ronald de los Reyes, Kit Joaquin and Alvin Ng, with a time of 6:53.19. Rounding out the other teams in were dzRH (7:00.62), autoindustriya.com (7:15.68), Business World (10:25.33), FM Radio (10:52.66), Motoring Today (10:53.50), AM Radio (10:52.66), and Manila Standard Today (13:03.27).

Meanwhile, it was Onyl Malabanan who topped other five Honda Club member-entries in their own category with a time of 3:03.60.

The six Honda Jazz VTEC 1500 M/Ts used in the event are equipped with roll cages, racing seats and five-point harnesses.  They are also fitted with Yokohama Tires, while the batteries are courtesy of Motolite “Trusted na Pangmatagalan.” The official fuel for the 2007 season is the new Petron XCS Complete Combustion System, while the other sponsors include 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 next two rounds of the 2007 Honda Media Challenge are scheduled for November 24 and December 8 also at the FTI Complex.

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BusinessMirror takes close second in Honda Media Challenge

THE 2007 edition of the Honda Media Challenge got off to a fiery start with a new autokhana format, which combined the autocross and gymkhana disciplines, requiring both speed and precision driving from media participants, last weekend at the FTI Complex in Taguig City.

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