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I raced against Vios Cup double-champion Jason Choachuy and lost

It’s the second leg of the 2014 Vios Cup in July and I’m standing next to a race marshal holding up a yellow flag. I’m in my brand new racing suit, helmet, gloves, shoes, everything, and I’m 20 feet away from my car – car number 5 – because it’s sitting pretty on the gravel trap inside the Clark International Speedway. That’s what happens when you go into a turn too hot, too fast, too out-of-control. The car spins out. Your wheels dig into the gravel. And the driver competing in the media division – me – gets to watch the remaining 8 laps beside a marshal.

On the bright side, I have a spectacular view of the race. I already know the leading cars by heart: Jason Choachuy, Luis Gono, Allan Uy, Iñaki Araneta, Carlos Castañeda. Basti Escalante, Andres Calma. They always skyrocket past my car during weekend practice sessions so na-memorize ko na yung mga Vios racecars nila. I am a fan. Of course, when you become a fan in the heat of a race, you’re toast. As in French toast. With maple syrup and bacon on the side. I comfort myself with a realization: I am more an experiential athlete than a competitive athlete. I’m not out there to win. I’m out there to experience.

And that’s what happened. I’m holding my helmet. I have taken my balaclava off. I’m out of the race, not that I was really ever in it. I have the second best seat in the house, the best seat being inside a Vios on the track. I see Choachuy’s car, number 37, displaying the audacity of its driver. Driver and car as one. The man and his machine fear neither heat nor rain. You learn about competitiveness, you learn about pushing boundaries, you learn about skill, you learn about pressure, you learn about yourself while watching a driver like Choachuy. He goes on to win his second straight Vios Cup.

I’m cheering for Choachuy to win the third leg of the 2014 Vios Cup on October 18 and 19 at McKinley West in Taguig City. I have to. Because if he wins, it will allow me to say that, once upon a time, I raced against a grand slam winner. It will no longer matter that I spent more than half the race chitchatting with a race marshal. It will no longer matter that I lost. Let’s go Jason!!!



MH: What is it about racing that gives you a rush, a thrill?

JC: For me, it’s not about cars. It’s about racing. I love racing so much that I will even race a horse. For me, without racing, I’m not living anymore. Makikipagkarera ako ng kabayo if kailangan, seryoso ako.

MH: When you were a kid, did you already know that you wanted to race?

JC: I already liked cars when I was three years old. I started racing when I was 12 or 13 years old. From there, it grew. I would watch Filipino motor shows on television, the ones of Mike Potenciano or I would watch Pocholo Ramirez or sila JP Tuason. I also watched this documentary on (legendary Filipino racecar driver and 2-time Macau Grand Prix winner) Dodjie Laurel. So I got inspired to race.

MH: During the Vios Cup over the weekend, you’re gunning for a grand slam. What’s so fun about the Vios Cup for you?

JC: It’s so equal. All the cars are totally the same. Even the settings, the differences are very minute. It’s a fair game. It’s all about skills, having the heart to race and having the consistency and trying not to choke.



MH: Let’s get to your nickname: The Destroyer. Why did you get that moniker?

JC: I got that through drifting. When I started drifting back in 2006, I was driving very aggressively and I was blowing up engines. In drifting, contact is allowed and I was bumping people already. That’s how they made me The Destroyer.

MH: Are you proud of that nickname?

JC: Not really because it’s very negative. For most of my career, I’ve been driving for sponsors like Atoy Body Kits, Autoindustriya and now Toyota Balintawak. So when there’s a new sponsor that wants to get me, parang they could say, ‘Don’t get that guy ‘cause he’s The Destroyer so he’s gonna destroy your car.’ It’s negative.

MH: So instead of The Destroyer, what should we call you instead?

JC: I don’t know eh. I guess that’s really how I drive. I really drive aggressively. I can’t think of any other nickname.

MH: You’ve been unbeatable so far in the 2014 Vios Cup. People have been trying to beat you in the last two legs and they couldn’t. And there are a lot of talented drivers in the race. So the question is: what do you have that, apparently, the other drivers don’t have?

JC: The level 1 and level 2 classes offered by the Tuason Racing School actually helped me a lot. What I learned there and what I learned through drifting, I apply that to circuit racing. I use everything in the car. I push the car to the limit. That’s pretty much my advantage.

MH: I think your other advantage is that you’re never scared.

JC: (Laughs.)

MH: You’re probably not scared of anything. Are you scared of anything?

JC: Cockroaches.

MH: At least that’s one advantage I have over you. What is the philosophy you follow each time you drive?

JC: When you’re so pumped up with adrenaline, you tend to overdrive the car. Or most of the drivers I see, they think too much. They think too much and they tend to hesitate. But me, I drive too much and I don’t get to think and strategize. So I have a reminder on my steering wheel. On the left side it says Think More. On the right side it says Drive Less. The aggressiveness is always there for me so I need to step back and strategize on what to do, how to attack a corner, how to overtake, how to make better time.

MH: What’s the next step?

JC: I don’t plan to stop racing. The question is where am I going to race. I’m sure with Toyota, motorsports is totally different now with the Vios Cup. Of course, the dream is to be able to compete overseas. So that’s the main goal.