Now in its 9th year, the Philippine Rallycross Series (PHRX) gets a boost from the Automobile Association Philippines (AAP) to help increase the popularity of rallying in the country.
Since 2015, PHRX has been organizing rally and rallycross events as part of its thrust to bring back the beloved motorsport discipline of rallying in the local scene. AAP, as the local representative of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), is the national sporting authority in the country.
In the recently concluded third round of the 2024 Philippine Rallycross Series held in Cavite, AAP motorsports committee chair Mandy Eduque graced the event, showing support to the series.
Expressing his enthusiasm over the current state of the motorsport discipline in the country, Eduque remarked, “I was extremely impressed because when I asked how many competitors were in that round, there were 53. Even in the heydays of rallying in the 1980s and 1990s we never got an entry list of 53. I was gratified. Rallying is definitely back.”
Subsequent to the event, the AAP and PHRX met and discussed the need for continued improvement of the conduct of events, and the better promotion of rallying. Present during the meeting were AAP president Joe Ferreria, PHRX race organizer Olson Camacho, AAP vice president David Arcenas, Eduque, AAP CEO Mark Desales, and head of AAP motorsports Rikki Dy-Liacco.
To kick things off, AAP hosted the fourth round of the PHRX last April 6 at the CCP open grounds. In commemoration of one of the Philippine motorsport pillars who dedicated himself to the sport from the ‘70s up to his untimely demise, the round will be called “The Jun Espino Memorial Rallycross.” This special round coincided with the 2024 Manila International Auto Show.
“The bigger exposure of hosting the event right across one of the venues of the 2024 MIAS helped promote rallying to a bigger audience of car enthusiasts,” said Dy-Liacco.