A COUPLE of months fresh from their recent victory in Korea, the Philippine Team of decorated race car driver Milo Rivera and multi-titled veteran Carlos Anton aim to triple their success as they fly to Taoyuan, Taiwan this Oct. 28 and 29 for the 3rd Round of the FIA Asia Auto Gymkhana Competition.
The said race will once again be participated by 32 of the continent’s best Slalom/Gymkhana drivers, with the Philippines regarded as one of the teams to beat, alongside powerhouse Japan behind Tetsuya Yamano and Masaki Nishihara, South East Asian rivals Indonesia behind Indonesian no. 1, Demas Agil Ramadani, and hosts Taiwan.
However, Rivera, who is currently the two-time defending individual champion, believes that there are no favorites nor underdogs in this competition.
“We have to put all our success behind us for now and start from square one. I’m sure everyone is well-prepared and out there ready to take the crown away from us. But we will make sure that we will not disappoint our country,” said the reigning four-time National Slalom Champion, who is backed by Federal Tires, United Auctioneers Inc., Blade Auto Center, AutoPerformancePH, and Placewell International Services Corp.
Aside from the individual plum, which Rivera aims to defend for a third straight time, he, along with teammate Anton will, too, defend their team crowns.
“As always, we’re coming in prepared but we can never be too confident given the success we’ve had. I’m sure Milo and I will be ready to give the country glory once again, but we’ll leave it all to God to decide the outcome,” said the Yokohama, Castrol, and Mark Young Cars-backed Anton who’s been a regular name in the Asian Gymkhana tourney.
The Philippine contingent will be well-presented in Taiwan as the two drivers are accompanied by delegates from the Automobile Association Philippines, the country’s governing body for four-wheel motorsports.
The delegation will be composed of Lito and Bing Bang Dulce, Chairman and President of RACE Motorsports Club National Slalom Racing; head coach, 10-time National Rally Champion Vip Isada; and AAP Media representative Ramon Boado.
“This event will be another major milestone this 2017 for Philippine Motorsports and we at the AAP firmly believe that our country can retain the title for a third straight time under Milo and Carlos, God-willingly,” said Mark Anthony Desales, the Motorsports Operations Manager of the AAP.
The Philippine team will fly out of Manila today before attending press conferences and ceremonies upon their arrival in Taiwan.
The qualifying stages will be held on Oct. 28, while the actual knockout phases will commence on the 29th.
