ILONGGOS in this part of town were instant happy neophytes, as they got behind their vehicles, drove around 70 kilometers of barangay roads and had their introductory lessons in a motorsport discipline, wherein the late great “racing legends” Pocholo Ramirez and Dodo Ayuyao once fiercely competed in the 1960s.
“Aside from the thrills that the motorsport activity bring, it’s also a good way for Kabangkalanons to explore their own hometown and go around the 32 barangays that we have here,” said local motorsports enthusiast and organizer Emmanuel “Tootsie” Zayco, who, together with his brother Mansu, were champions in one of the biggest staged fuel-economy competitions in the country, the Petron Xtramile Challenge.
“It’s fairly new here, but it’s attracting more and more interests,” he added. For first-timers, a “sampaguita rally” is not a race, but rather a competition between tandems of drivers and navigators using their driving skills, mastery of a given route (guided only by road signs and symbols) and time management to travel a given distance over a precise given time, while being “on time all the time” at any point of the given route. Marshals are stationed in various checkpoints to assist the participants as they log in their times using a bundy clock. Demerits are applied for each second over or under the specified duration.
The good thing about the sport is that no professional driving skill is required to join. “It’s a cherished bonding moment with my daughters in a fun competitive environment such as this,” shared Gerro Locsin, who, together with his daughters Aya and Bettina, immersed himself for the first time in tasks as driver, navigator and timer.
Topping the competition, meantime, was the uncle-nephew tandem of Miguel Arimas and Paul Azcona, using their 2012 Toyota Land Cruiser. “It’s fun. It’s something new for us,” they said.
Coming in second were driver Vicente Paras and navigator Danny Mungaras with their 2011 Toyota Hilux; while third was the 2010 Subaru Forester driver Yepe Infante with his navigator Joel Sarmiento.
Meanwhile, using their 1998 Mitsubishi Adventure, the team of Ernestine Garcia and Vene May Magallanes captured the best times in Stages D and E. The sampaguita rally served as one of the highlights of the city’s weeklong thanksgiving festival, the “Sinulog sa Kabankalan,” which featured various cultural, religious, as well as entertainment, activities to venerate the Santo Niño.
Started in 1976, the Sinulog sa Kabankalan has been celebrated for almost 39 years and precedes other similar festivals in neighboring islands. As a top tourist attraction, particularly among locals from neighboring areas, the festivities have managed to retain their authenticity and grassroots appeal. Visitors, such as this writer, who came to share in the revelry got to personally experience the genuine community spirit of the Kabankalanons. Aside from the sampaguita rally introduced in the festivities this year, auto-cross and super-moto event were also held. In an interview with Kabankalan City Mayor Isidro Zayco, he said: “To answer the need of the growing motoring population and racing enthusiasts here in our city, we decided to include motorsports in our activities.”
Indeed, the inclusion of motorsports in their list of various activities is just so timely in preparation for a bigger celebration in 2016.
And, just like what they say: “Hingabut!”