Robby Consunji (2nd from left), RFC representative to the Philippines, welcomes AirAsia-Land Rover team drivers Hirryan Mendiola (center) and his father, Hilario (2nd from right), upon their arrival at the Clark Airport on Wednesday. With them are their fellow team members Igor Maminta and Dennis Javier. Photo by Ric Gonzales
CLARK FREEPORT – Guided by a new Malaysian coach, Team AirAsia—Land Rover Philippines finished 2nd runner-up overall in the recent Rainforest Challenge of Malaysia (RFC) in Terragganu, Malaysia participated in by more than 30 teams from different nations.
The AirAsia-Land Rover team composed of drivers Hilario Mendiola and his son, Hirryan, of Angeles City, Pampanga arrived at the Clark Airport on Wednesday. Completing their team are Dennis Javier and Igor Maminta.
They were welcomed by Robby Consunji, RFC representative to the Philippines, upon their arrival on an AirAsia flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Consunji said the AirAsia-Land Rover had hired Vignes Waran of Malaysia as coach this year to improve the changes of the Philippine team in the tough competition. He added that they had acquired new equipment to make the team “very competitive.”
Consunji and the Mendiolas stressed that “Land Rovers are the best and really different compared to other vehicles.”
“It’s only the vehicle that you can use in an off-road challenge coming straight from a showroom. Others you have to improve or modify before you can use them,” added Consunji.
Consunji disclosed that it was the first time this year for AirAsia Philippines to join the Land Rover-RFC team.
“AirAsia believes that it can promote local tourism and off-road challenges in Clark and other areas in Pampanga and Central Luzon,” said Consunji. AirAsia is set to begin operations at Clark early next year.
“Our group of four competitors worked together to win through the 30 kilometers of Twilight Zone. We worked as a team to compete the jungle trail. It was clockwork and the camaraderie was high,” said the older Mendiola.
The Twilight Zone that took three days and two nights to compete was some 50 kms of “rolling trail.” What made the competition more difficult was that it was raining and the ground was slippery, according to the statements of Land Rover Philippines.
The Mendiolas said the special stages in the jungle were tough. But the Land Rover Depender 90 did not suffer mechanical breakdown and they completed the stages without a single DNF grade, or Did Not Finish.
“The trail was tight with a lot of sharp turns, and required technical winching. As a whole, the special stages required a strategy to complex, the first to run as a special stage was often a test case for the rest of the competitors,” said the Land Rover team in a statement.
“We Filipinos have proven ourselves once again in the international 4X4 arena. True to the fact that the team won again, it just shows that Filipinos have the talent to excel globally and especially in a sport such as off-roading,” said Marc Soong, executive director of Land Rover Philippines Motors Inc.
The ten-day Rainforest Challenge held starting December 3 is considered as one of the world’s longest and toughest 4×4 off-road extreme competitions.
