Tour de Cebu, the country’s only 1,000-kilometers touristic and historic sports-car rally for vintage cars, returns to the bucolic province of Bohol from October 20 to 22 for its fourth edition.
Dubbed Touristic Rally, Across the Visayas, the motoring event is inspired by Italy’s Mille Miglia rally which gives emphasis on time accuracy over speed. Better known as a time-speed-distance rally, participating cars should be model 1972 or older, and must be at the checkpoints at the designated times.
Presenting the annual motoring event are the Performance and Classic Enthusiasts (PACE) of Cebu and the Manila Sports Car Club (MSCC).
Over 50 participants are expected to join, including international drivers from Hong Kong and Singapore.
Last year’s edition kicked off in Cebu City and made its way to Tubigon, Bohol, onboard a roll-on, roll-off (Roro) boat. Thirty-three vintage cars made its way through the scenic route of Bohol’s landscape and capped each end of the Bohol route at the triple A luxury resort Be Grand Resort in Panglao Island.
Behind the wheels were the crème de la crème of the country’s motoring community, such as CNN Philippines’s automotive journalist James Deakin; world-renowned designer Kenneth Cobonpue; and business tycoons Michael Lhuillier, Darren Deen, Rep. Red Duran of Cebu and hotelier Grand Benedicto.
First-time and youngest participant, Martin Aguilar, took home the trophy as the champion for the third Tour de Cebu.
“The reason we’re coming back is because it was just so phenomenal last year [the Tour De Cebu event] in Bohol; from the amazing hosting of the local government and students—the local support was high,” enthuses PACE Chairman Michael Lhuillier.
He said the race was conceptualized to celebrate a decade of friendships formed and shaped by the open road, but has blossomed into a major driver for road tourism, highlighting the beautiful roads and the scenic spots in the Visayas.
He added that the tour has captured the imagination of many classic-car enthusiasts and fans, as well as contributed to the fact that “It’s more fun in the Philippines”.
The Bohol route is still being finalized, but local tourism officials said this year’s event will pass through the lesser-known, but equally scenic, roads.
The event is managed and co-organized by Tradeshow International Inc., while rally management is handled by Pro Dynamix Management by Pepon Marave, with the support the Province of Bohol, the Municipality of Panglao and Be Grand Resort.