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Thursday, March 28, 2024

A breeding ground for Motorsports stars

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FROM karting to slalom, and now one-make car racing, youthful Estefano Rivera always leaves his indelible mark as a racing champion.

The multi-titled Rivera swept the two races of the premier Sporting Class in the recent third leg of the 2015 Toyota Vios Cup at the Manila Bay Circuit in the Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City to cement his status as one of the country’s best young drivers.

After starting from the pole position in both races, Rivera showed wonderful composure and dictated the pace all throughout the weekend races. He finished Race 1 ahead of teammates Andres Calma and Bobby Domingo, capping off a historic team 1-2-3 finish for the Toyota Alabang Team for the first time in the local series’ running.

Estefano Rivera (Vios Car no. 23) paces his teammates Andres Calma (97) and Bobby Domingo (15). RAMON D. BOADO

Race 2 saw Rivera winning comfortably, with Daniel Miranda of Toyota Balintawak finishing behind and Domingo making another podium at third spot. Rivera also posted the fastest time of the weekend with a clocking of 1:00.185.

Toyota Alabang Motorsports Team Principal Mike Lee praised his team, especially Rivera, for their dominant effort.

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“More than the caliber of our drivers, we were very impressed with our team’s overall chemistry; from our head coach and tuner Edgen Dy-Liacco, to our team of very talented technicians and engineers. This victory was truly a team effort,” said Lee, who added that their continuous practice and training sessions leading up to the Manila leg were able to improve not only the preparedness of the drivers, but of further developing their cars’ performance and reliability.

With the performance of the team, it has virtually secured the team championship in the series after winning 5 out of 8 races. The seventh and eighth legs will be held in November, in Subic.

Estefano Rivera (center) displays a giant replica of his winner’s check at the podium is a joined by teammates Andres Calma (left) and Bobby Domingo. RAMON D. BOADO

In the division 2 “Promotional Class,” their teammate Miguel Diaz, ruled both races of the same event, making the team’s achievements even sweeter.

Toyota Alabang President Cesar T. Lee, father of Mike, also glorified the team’s recent success.

“Our team’s success could have not happened in a better time”, said Lee in anticipation of Toyota Alabang’s 26th Anniversary celebration on Sept. 15.

With the continuous support and management of Toyota Motor Philippines, under its president, Michinobu Sugata, in cooperation with Tuason Racing School, the Vios Cup has continued to live up to its word as the country’s leading 4-wheel motorsports series. It attracts a large number of crowd attendance and has already developed a fan base in a national level. And on its second season, the series is further making innovations to sustain its status as a local sports attraction and a breeding ground for our country’s next motorsports stars.

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