When its 33-year-old Miata won early on in the endurance race challenge, the team thought that maybe “it was simply luck.”
When Cebu Racing Group (CRG) was awarded Overall Champion in the 2022 Petron Makabayan Endurance Challenge Series, the stars had truly aligned for the Cebuanos behind the pedal-to-the-metal action: Jess, 50; Jojo, 48; Jong, 45; and Curbie, 39.
In a competition mostly joined by teams from Metro Manila, CRG showed that this sport is not only about its supersonic mechanical components but also the importance of team chemistry and sacrifice.
Team captain Jess recalled the group’s historic return to the grid and how it was able to stand proud on the podiums of Clark International Speedway (CIS) — and even clinching several wins in the coveted Golden Wheel Awards, considered the “Oscars” of the racing world in the country (Petron Endurance Series: 2022 Overall Champion, 2022 Open B Overall Champion, 2022 3rd Open and 2021 3rd Class 3).
“Basically, there were three legs. This race was an endurance race where you have a car that should run from start to finish the whole time whatever the duration was. Regardless of the rules and limitations, our team won the overall class which means that we are the champions regardless of what class,” Jess explained.
To put it simply, in an eight-hour race that starts from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. the winner is determined by who completes the most laps in that duration.
CRG participated in all three legs: The Kagitingan Cup 4-Hour Endurance Race Challenge in April at the Batangas Racing Circuit, the Kalayaan Cup 12-Hour Endurance Race Challenge in June at the CIS and the Bonifacio Cup 8-Hour Endurance Race Challenge in November at the CIS. CRG took home eight trophies in the Kalayaan Cup, while achieving a record-breaking 280 laps, the most in CIS history.
With a lot of hard work and some good luck, the odds were slashed by the group’s winning car: Its 1990 Mazda Miata. While the Miata is considerably disadvantaged on a circuit track, the team still managed to best the 30 other max tuned cars on the race track.
“For the most part, you’re just winging it and then you just adjust how the situations are presented. You have plans, but you just see how it goes,” Curbie explained.
“It’s not only about the car but it’s about every driver, every mechanic, every car and all the strategy that goes towards all our preparations,” Jong said.
Admittedly late bloomers, the four-member team recalled how their group of middle-aged men came together to form the unexpected group of champions.
“It was actually formed a long time ago in the early 2000s as a karting team, so we started sending Cebuanos to compete in the national karting series for many years along with celebrity Matteo Guidicelli. After a while, the track here deteriorated and Cebuanos were not competing anymore,” said Jess.
Years later, particularly in 2018, they started over again. They initially entered a seven-lap endurance race in 2017 to test the waters, but the pandemic hit, leaving them stuck. However, towards the end of 2021, they decided to join the endurance race to see how it goes again.
“Curbie and Jong joined the team during the testing which we won and we thought that these guys are our lucky charms. In 2022, we won with them and last year in June, with the 12-hour races, we won again. Maybe it wasn’t sheer luck anymore,” said Jess.
The only enemy in a game where talent and luck are equally important is slowing down your speed, and CRG exactly proves that there is no ideal age to start and get one’s adrenaline flowing.
“We just continue what we love doing as long as we’re physically fit and our bodies allow it,” Jojo shared.
Is racing worth the pain? The muscle aches, the time away from family, the money drained. At the end of the day, for the passion and love for the sport, they say it’s worth it.
The members of CRG shared that there is something almost inexplicable about being behind the wheel of a car speeding through the tracks and circuits.
Curbie said he couldn’t really explain the feeling he gets — only that maybe it’s a “borderline addiction,” much to the amusement of his team. For Jess, he embraces the challenge that racing provides which keeps him on his toes; he knows that he has to stay at the right moment just before the car goes out of the track and keep control of his vehicle.
It’s these things that make them stay in the racing world.
In fact, it is when he’s driving that Jong feels the youngest:
“I become young when I get in a car. This is the fountain of youth. I become a kid again. I just forget everything else. I just enjoy driving.”
The opportunity and privilege to drive and play with the “tiguwangs” (elderly), as Jong fondly calls his teammates, is fun for him and relieves his stress. Had it not been for his teammates, he knew that racing alone would be different.
Their vision for the future is for the younger generations of Cebuanos to have a platform and a venue to explore their interests in driving and competitive racing, may it be for leisure or for competitive streaks.
There are lucky winners, but it takes a champion to put in the pain, hard work and grit to grab a winning moment.
CRG will be defending its title during the 2023 season opener in the Batangas Racing Circuit on April 15.
”We will be back bigger, stronger, older and definitely faster,” said Jess.
Cheers to the champs from the Queen City.