I remember a couple of years ago while I was searching around the internet that I happen to encounter the words Gumball Rally, Gold Rush Rally, Bull Run, and Cannonball Run. These four are actually annual auto rallies held across the United States and Europe. I was like, "WOW, I WISH WE HAVE THESE HERE IN THE PHILIPPINES", when I watched YouTube videos of these four rallies. All of these cross country rallies have the same concepts. Joining cars (mostly are composed of super cars, luxury cars, sports cars and expensive SUVs) are flagged off from a certain city and finishes at another city. It's a drive across a whole country (across continents if it's the Gumball Rally) and passes through different city checkpoints in a span of 7 days before making it to the finish line.
As a driving enthusiast, I was so envious of these Europeans and Americans for being able to join such rallies. I wished of organizing such an event, but being relatively new to the car community that time, I have no influence and resources to organize one. (There is the Sampaguita Rally but it's not open to everyone. And as far as I know, it's nowhere similar to the mentioned rallies above). Luckily, I happen to encounter an article in Top Gear Philippines. The article is about the BOSS Ironman Challenge. The writer, Aris Ilagan, was actually criticizing the event for being dangerous and unsafe. But while reading Mr. Ilagan's article, what really caught my attention was the format of the BOSS Ironman Challenge. This the motoring event that I am looking for. This is Gumball Rally Filipino style!
The BOSS Ironman Challenge is an endurance rally held annually and organized by the BMW Owners Society of Saferiders Motorcycle Club. It is actually an annual rally of motorcycles with at least 400cc of engine and above, but in 2010, BOSS accepted cars to participate. The rules of this endurance rally are simple. Finish the 1200 km route around the North Luzon loop in 24 hours by passing through all the checkpoints. It doesn't matter what route you will take to the finish line, as long as you pass through all the checkpoints in order with your passports stamped and verified by marshals. Once you finish the rally within the 24 hour time limit, you will be recognized as an Iron Man. You will be part of the hall of fame of Iron Men of drivers and motorcycle riders in the Philippines. When you are a BOSS Ironman finisher, you will be tagged as one of the top drivers / riders in the Philippines.
I originally planned in joining the BOSS Ironman Challenge in 2013, but due to time and resources constraints and schedule conflicts, I wasn't able to do so. Fortunately, time and money were on my side last year, and I was able to sign up for the 2014 BOSS Iron Man Challenge IX.
I prepared our beloved Mariah (Kia Rio EX) for the BOSS Ironman Challenge IX. I changed its motor oil, got the brakes cleaned and conditioned its engine for the high speed endurance driving that I will be doing for the rally. The Kia Rio JB became my weapon of choice for the endurance rally because, 1) It's an underrated car. Filipino car enthusiasts don't believe in the ability of this car by Kia, but, man, this car is powerful. Enough said. 2) It's the car I use regularly in Slalom, Autocross, Rallying, Drag Racing and Track Days, 3) Kia's slogan is true. Kia has the "Power to Surprise", 4) I want to prove its worth to the Motoring Community.
The BOSS IronMan Challenge IX was chaired by entrepreneur Orlando "Jojo" Bautista. The BOSS Iron Man Challenge, by the way, is not a race. It is a test of a driver's / rider's endurance in operating his / her respective vehicle and skills in navigation. No prizes were awarded to early finishers. The only objective of the BOSS Iron Man Challenge is to finish the prescribed 1200 KM route in 24 Hours.
Upon arriving at our flag off venue at the Balintawak Home Depot at EDSA in the evening of January 10, 2014. Hundreds of motorcycles and about twenty plus cars were getting ready to be flagged off. Drivers and riders alike were preparing physically and mentally for the 1200 plus kilometer drive. Our route for the challenge is North Luzon loop counter clockwise. Our first checkpoint is at San Jose, Nueva Ecija, then Cauayan, Isabela, all the way to Tuguegarao, Cagayan, then to Sanchez Mira, Cagayan. From Sanchez Mira, we will pass by Ilocos Norte, until we reach Vigan, Ilocos Sur, then from Vigan we drive all the way to San Juan, La Union. San Juan La Union is our final checkpoint before we drive all the way to the finish line at Hotel Stotsenberg at Clark Airbase, Pampanga. All checkpoints were stationed at Petron gas stations. Petron is the official fuel sponsor of the 2014 BOSS Iron Man Challenge IX.
A couple of minutes before the flag off, Mr. Jojo Bautista gathered the riders and the drivers. He gave us a little briefing, and lead us in prayer as we start the event. At exactly 10:00 PM, all cars were called to the starting line. I was flagged off at 10:07 PM. The motorcycles on the other hand were flagged off at 12:00 AM of January 11, as far as I know.
Upon entering the NLEX with other Iron Man car participants, I drove Mariah lively, and played around with the Subaru Impreza GC8 of one of the competitors. We were driving through traffic blasting at speeds up to 200 KPH, well, at least my Kia is. Once I hit 200 KPH, that was the moment when the Subaru surpassed me. The GC8 is capable of 250 KPH, the Rio's top speed is only 200 KPH flat.
I've had managed to drive from 130 - 200 KPH from NLEX until I exit SCTEX. By the time I reached the exit of SCTEX, I got confused, because there's a change in the expressway. The TPLEX was new that time, and the La Paz exit was diverted, and I didn't realize it. I only relied on Waze because I don't have a Sat Nav that time, but not having a navigator, the Waze also became useless because I have to concentrate on my driving, especially I am doing high speed runs. I missed the La Paz exit and exit TPLEX instead accidentally. I was quite confused, I don't know where to go. Luckily, I saw the Haima M3 of C! Wheel 2 Wheel writer Maynard Marcelo and BOSS's Binggoy Berenguer. I actually stayed behind them while at TPLEX. I had to be patient because the Haima M3 is only topping at around 160- 170 KPH, while my Kia is aching to go flat out at 200 KPH. I was lost in TPLEX. The Haima exited Pura, I followed Maynard and Binggoy closely. We passed thru the town of Pura, then to a town that I don't really no where. The town was quite dark and we were driving through rough roads. In a couple of minutes, we were able to reach a secondary highway, I think that was Guimba. From that highway, we exited the Maharlikha highway at Munoz, Nueva Ecija. I overtook the Haima, and drove straight to the San Jose checkpoint as fast as I can. I had to drive fast because we don't want to catch traffic at Santiago, Isabela if we reach sunrise in the North East side.
On my way to the Isabela checkpoint in Cauayan from San Jose, the first motorcycle that overtook me was at 12:45 am, and I was just about to enter Santa Fe, Nueva Vizcaya that time. I was quite surprised because, as far as I know, the motorcycles were flagged off at 12 midnight. I was wondering if that was Jotle Viray or Doc Joey Almeda. Upon reaching the Cauayan checkpoint, I did my first fuel stop there. Not at the Petron gas station. I fueled up with Shell that time.
Upon reaching Tuguegarao, Cagayan, I got lost again. I can't figure out how to find the checkpoint. It is situated somewhere in the town. Fortunately, I am not the only one who was lost. Enzo Bautista in a 2011 Subura Impreza WRX STi, convoyed with a Mitsubishi Lancer Box Type of his friend were also lost too. There's also a husband and wife riding a BMW GS1200 Touring bike with us. We decided to stick together. Good thing the locals were accommodating and we reached the Petron checkpoint in Tuguegarao. Though we lost 30 minutes just to locate the checkpoint.
The ride from Tuguegarao to Sanchez Mira was the most memorable part for me. I was doing 130 KPH - 200 KPH for most of the leg. Imagine doing high speed runs at a highway that I am not familiar with. My San Jose to Tuguegarao drive was a run of 80KPH - 180 KPH, that's also fast, but the Tuguegarao Sanchez Mira leg was incredibly different. Roads were nicer, and mountain passes were lesser, which made the drive more high speed. Before reaching Sanchez Mira, I was doing 200 KPH flat out, driving down a straight road somewhere in Cagayan, all I see is luscious green scenery from rice fields. Then at flat out speed, a herd of motorcycles overtook me, most of them were Ducatis, Aprilias and BMWs, as far as I remember. Wow! I was doing 200KPH and motorcycles will just overtake me effortlessly. I can hardly imagine the speeds that they were doing. Even the Subarus who joined the challenge cannot match their speeds. You will be needing Porsches, Lamborghinis, McLarens and Ferraris to be able to match these two wheeled dare devils. Another unforgettable experience while on my way to the Sanchez Mira checkpoint was when I was about to enter another mountain pass, from 170 KPH, I had to slow down to 120 KPH, attack the curve, slow down again to 80 or a hundred kph, then I was about to use the apex, but suddenly two or three Kymco 500cc scooters overtook me again--effortlessly. My drive to Sanchez Mira made me fall in love with Big Motorcycles and Big Scooters.
From Sanchez Mira, I passed thru some towns, then to Claveria, Cagayan, which I believe and as far as my memory serves me right is the last town before Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte. The scenery of the ocean was so wonderful that I had to stop for a photo op of the Kia Rio. I also passed by a waterfalls in Pagudpud, drank water there, and drove to Patapat viaduct.
Upon entering the Patapat Viaduct, I once again drove the Kia Rio flat out to enjoy the road, but upon seeing the sun rising, I stopped once again, took photos, then blasted off. I was actually running out of fuel that time. But not trusting the fuel quality in Pagudpud, Bangui, Burgos, and Pasuquin, I decided to run in low fuel until reaching Laoag. I stopped by the Bangui windmills, took some photos again. And slept for an hour. The only thing I ate for breakfast is a Toblerone dark chocolate and drank a can of Monster energy drink when I woke up. From the windmills to Laoag, I only cruised at the speed of 80 -120 KPH. It's a good thing that the Kia Rio is still fuel efficient at 120 KPH. Actually, 120 KPH is its sweet spot in fuel economy. I fueled up in a Shell Station in Laoag, visited the Kia dealership of Green Valley Auto Sale of Chris Trajano in San Nicolas, the next town to Laoag southwards, and drove to Currimao to visit a lady friend just to say hello.
From Currimao, I drove all the way to the next checkpoint which is in Vigan. The drive to Vigan was frustrating, the traffic was heavy because I had to pass three different processions. I lost three hours because of the processions. I had to be patient there. I reached Vigan at 11:15 AM.
I was thinking of having a decent meal already, but I don't want to lose momentum in driving. How I would love to eat empanada and bagnet that time, but I don't want to compromise my quest to become an Iron Man.
From Vigan, I decided to go straight to San Juan, La Union, our last checkpoint. Traffic was not on my side that time, so I only averaged 80 - 160 KPH until I reached Sudipen, La Union. At least there were no processions anymore. After the Sudipen arch, I saw the drift car, a Nissan Silvia S14, of my fellow race car driver and good friend Jay Lazaga of Team GMW. It was parked in his restaurant. And because I was hungry, I decided to stop again, and eat at Jay's restaurant. I met Jay, talked for a while about the Iron Man challenge. Jay and another good friend of ours, Boodie Dabasol, were supposed to join the Iron Man challenge, but their car didn't make it before the event. They were supposed to compete in a turbocharged Suzuki Swift. After chatting, I decided to drive again, which made me forget to eat! I decided to go to the last checkpoint without eating again. But I enjoyed my drive to San Juan, La Union, I was once again blasting on the highway. I reached San Juan, La Union at 1:35 PM.
Losing my appetite, I just decided to drive to the finish line in Pampanga. I filled up again in Rosario, La Union. After filling up, there was this BMW GS1200 Touring Bike, that was following me, I gave him openings to overtake me, but he keeps on following me. Upon entering Sison, Pangasinan, I just had to make the BMW GS1200 pass. I signaled him to go because traffic was bad. I had to be patient with the traffic and stop myself from envying the capability of motorcycles to weave in and out of traffic easily.
By the time I reached Bolinao, traffic was becoming worst from bad. Good thing, my father taught me the road via Asingan, Pangasinan. I took the diversion road. and blasted again until I reach Carmen. From Carmen, I drove all the way to Paniqui, Tarlac in high speed. I exited TPLEX, then, surprisingly enough, because I don't want to be delayed by speeding tickets, I decided to stick to 100 KPH. The sun is still high, patrol cars were still patrolling around the expressway, and I don't want to risk having a ticket. I drove all the way to SCTEX at 100 KPH, and upon entering SCTEX, I stick to 120 KPH. In my personal experience, no patrol car in SCTEX has flagged me down for doing 120 KPH, and I saw them using their radars at whatever car I drive.
The expressway runs to Clark were actually the most boring part, more boring than having to endure the three processions in Ilocos Sur. I even sang Pauline Wilson's Follow The Road just to keep my sanity and prevent myself from getting a speeding ticket. And because of it, I tagged the song Follow The Road as my personal 2014 BOSS Iron Man Challenge IX theme song.
I exited SCTEX at the Clark North toll booth at 5:45 PM. Once again, I feel unleashed. I blasted through the back highway topping at 160 KPH until I reach the Clark International Speedway. From there, I navigated my way to the Hotel Stotsenberg until I reached the finish line at 5:53 PM. That's a total time of 19 hours and 46 minutes on the road for a total of 1299 KMS. At last, I made it! I was officially recognized as an Iron Man! I am an official finisher of the 2014 BOSS IRON MAN CHALLENGE IX! And I am coming back again next year, maybe in our Hyundai Eon, which will make it more challenging because it runs on an 800cc 3 cylinder engine or in our Kia Rio again and beat the record of Gemini Co and Elbert Cuenca (just daydreaming). I still have to decide which car I will drive. And finally, I had my first decent meal of the day after a grueling drive, and didn't care if I have to pay big money just for a chicken adobo meal.
The Kia Rio JB has proven its ability to finish an endurance rally like the BOSS Ironman Challenge. And because of that I've had proven that Kia's tagline "The Power to Surprise" is indeed real! Doing speeds at more than 100 KPH for more than 10 hours is no joke, and the car even with its small engine displacement of 1400cc never had any problems during and after the rally is quite a big revelation that this car is no underdog at all. I do hope that after this article, the market price of the Kia Rio JB will appreciate. Because of its "Power to Surprise".
By the way, the guy on the BMW GS1200 Touring bike who tailed me while I was about to exit La Union was actually my Ninong, Dr. Lamcel Yraola. Dr. Lamcel joins the BOSS Iron Man Challenge annually in different motorcycles. We were actually reunited during the launch of the BOSS Iron Man IX in December 2013. He was leading a prayer, then I realized that during the prayer, he is my god father. The BOSS Iron Man Challenge is actually not just about improving your driving or riding skills. The BOSS Iron Man challenge is about learning patience, humility and the importance of friendship and family.
I will definitely join the BOSS Iron Man challenge annually! Whether I will be riding a bike, or driving a car! The lessons I learned from doing the BOSS Iron Man Challenge is what makes me an IRON MAN! See you on January 24, 2015 for the BOSS IRON MAN CHALLENGE X!
(Please check the photos below. More photos on our Facebook Page. https://www.facebook.com/PinoyLovesWheels)
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