If you ever happen to see a group of fancylooking cars driving- by, chances are these carseither belong to Tech-One, Performance Maniaxor Ultima Racing Group. These groups of car enthusiasts, be it speed maniacs, sound freaks, or bling fanatics,share a common passion for cool cars. You would spot themon Friday and Saturday nights partying at some local bar or hanging out at some nearby coffee shop sharing information on the latest aftermarket spare parts, camshafts, pistons, suspensions, amplifiers, subwoofers and their love stories.
These groups involve themselves in legal drag race, autocross race, sound-offs and car shows as part of their regular activities. They would occasionally go to Cebu and Bacolod to represent Iloilo City. The most recent event was the PALumba Session 2 held last April 17-19, 2009, of which attracted many participants from all over the Philippines including Manila, Cebu and Davao. Fidel 'Jun' Cabrera, of Team Tech-One, brought pride to Iloilo City when he bagged the title Champion in the Class B Category. “This event”, he says, “because done in a safe and controlled environment, provided car enthusiasts with a proper venue to race, thus further discouraged and lessened the incidences of street racing.” Fellow Ilonggos Randolf Lim and Fred Espino, both of Team Performance Maniax, also won 2nd place in Class C Categoryand Champion in Class D Category respectively in that same event.
The recently concluded autocross race has proven that indeed there are a lot of Ilonggos who are into this kind of sport, as well. “Safety is the most important factor to ensure when you engage in activities like these” stresses Alan Palacios of Team Tech-One.Activities like these also promote camaraderie and sportsmanship among the participants. As spokesperson for the group Team Ultima Racing, Kim Uy says, “One of our team's goal is to promote friendship and brotherhood, with the hope that we would be able to unite with other car enthusiasts out there.”
We drive safely, abide by the rules and regulations and observe proper road courtesy”, adds JR Tugbang.Mark Colorado, of Team Tech-One says, “Aside from having a good time, our group was formed because we want to have an assembly of car enthusiasts who are into this kind of sport. We willingly share our ideas and opinions with one another.” Frequent topics of conversation revolve around performance tuning and upgrades. They would also go on periodic out- of town fun runs to satisfy their 'need for speed' cravings. “This is what we enjoy doing. Activities like these give us opportunities to bond with our other members, as well as meet other people who share the same passion as we do”, concludes Klein Tan, Of Performance Maniax.
