Organizers of Tour de Cebu (from left) Ericson Dela Cruz , AVP marketing SM Seaside City Cebu; Marissa Fernan, VP for SM Prime, Chris Aldueger, Kenneth Cobonpue, Marilou Neri, Operation Manager SM Seaside; Junjun San Agustin, SVP for SM Supermalls Marketing; Sophie delos Santos and Christ Tio pose with a Shebyl Cobra B in the event’s launching yesterday SM Seaside City Cebu (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Classic cars will be taking center stage once more when the 3rd Tour de Cebu kicks off on Oct. 14–16.
For this year, Tour de Cebu will be invading Bohol in a three-day regularity race featuring cars manufactured in 1972 or older.
The event, organized by the Performance and Classics Enthusiasts of Cebu (Pace) in cooperation with the Manila Sports Car Club (MSCC), was launched yesterday at the Sky Hall of SM Seaside City Cebu.
Pace members, led by its chairman Chris Aldeguer, graced the launching.
“Sixty-five percent of the participants will come from Cebu. There will be one from Iloilo and another one from Davao,” said Aldeguer.
“We are counting 40 entries. We are still open because we are still sorting through the entries and eligibility. As you know, you cannot just enter any car. It must meet eligibility guidelines and will be scrutinized for safety and road worthiness,” said Chris Tio.
The event will not only showcase classic cars but also the places that the participants will be visiting.
“It is a touristic run. One of the goals is to highlight the beauty of the Visayan islands. The first two Tour de Cebu, we went to Negros, Dumaguete, Bacolod and San Carlos where there were beautiful coastal mountain roads. Now we’re going to Bohol. The idea here is we’re gonna bring out the beauty of the islands and as well as the safety of driving in the islands,” said Tio.
Tio recalled that the event’s inaugural edition was a memorable one.
“The first Tour de Cebu was quite historic. We did it in a supertyphoon. We were thinking whether or not to cancel the event, but most of the drivers from Manila were already here so we decided to mount the event. We did one day of heavy driving. We were able to do about 400-500 kilometers in the first day then we canceled it,” said Tio.
Inspired by the popular, Mille Miglia event that tours around Italy, Tour de Cebu continues to grow since it started in 2014.
“In the first Tour de Cebu, participants felt very challenged, and they enjoyed it so the word spread. And we got more entries in second edition,” added Tio.
Prominent actors set to join are actors Dominic Ochoa and Matteo Guidicelli as well as James Deakin, a known motoring show host.
Aldeguer was crowned champion in the event’s inaugural that was shortened due to typhoon.
“He (Aldeguer) drove a car with no roof under the rain. He did beat a lot more comfortable cars,” said Tio.
Driving a 1960s MGB, Christopher Yu topped the four-cylinder class in the second Tour de Cebu.
“He was a first-time participant. He had the car restored a couple of months prior to joining and a had one day of shakedown then emerged as a champion,” said Tio.
Yong Larrabal, driving a Shelby Cobra, topped the above four-cylinder class.
Ochoa finished second to Yu.
“Dominic was leading for most of the race, but he got lost,” said Tio.
“Getting lost is critical. Participants don’t know the route. Rally map will be given to the driver and his co-driver. The rally map it documents the whole point: where the bridges are, where to slow down and the what are traffic obstructions.
You’re supposed to go through the map and figure out ideal time setting. For example, reaching point A to point B must be achieved in 20 minutes. If your arrive 16 minutes, you will be penalized four minutes. If you arrive 25 minutes, you will be penalize for every minute over. It will be an on-time, all the time race,” said Tio.
Tui explained that those who will arrive early will be penalized “as we do not allow speeding and violating traffic rules.”
The car with the lowest penalty score will be declared winner.