Racing on the well-beaten path: An interview with an off-roader

Getting down and dirty on the Clark Speedway dirt tracks

 "Whatever the road smells of, that's how you'll smell.  If a carabao used that mudhole you crossed to bathe himself, you'll smell exactly like that carabao." 

Off-roader Jojo Javier offers this pragmatic advice to wannabe off-road racers who think the sport is all about fun and glam. Wearing my writer's hat for InFlight Magazine, part of my assignment was interviewing a curious mix of people from Clark, Pampanga who have adventure as their calling card. From drifting with lateral driving champion, Audel Sison, I met up with Jojo Javier on the tracks of Clark Speedway, deemed among the toughest in the country. 

Curiously, Jojo's background isn't in motorsports but scuba diving, skydiving and practical shooting. He wanted a diversion that would take him outdoors so he bought his first 4x4 many years ago. But it would take a couple of years before the competitive bug bit. He recalls his first race, "muntik na akong umurong nang nakita ko yung race track kasi yung table top is around 15 feet" (I almost pulled out of the race when I saw the race track because the table top obstacle is 15 feet high). In a sport where guts seem to be the high-octane fuel that propel drivers to brave the races, does anything ever faze him? "Recently dun sa national dumptruck challenge, meron talagang tumataob nang paharap" (In the recent national dumptruck challenge, there were vehicles that overturn on their front end which is scary). 

Lagalog celebrates 8

Balloon man along Ongpin on Chinese New Year 2012

If you asked me way back in 2004 what I would be doing in 2012, I really wouldn't have any clue.  I wouldn't even know if I would still be writing, shooting and chronicling my travels online which in retrospect, is really a time-consuming endeavor.  But thank God because here I am, still blogging and plugging away, even through career changes and mixed fortunes.  Oh, every year is different and every year is no easier than the last one.  Finding inspiration to keep on going doesn't get any easier but thankfully, the process can be cathartic, nay even reinvigorating to one's spirits.  Yeah, there were times when I thought of just quitting but miraculously, circumstances just present themselves that allow me to go on.  Besides, I enjoy sharing the insights and experiences, hoping that they will be of help to somebody else, taking comfort in the fact that this may be my little contribution to the world at large.

As I walked through Manila's Chinatown with friends celebrating with our Chinese and Chinoy brethren, allow me to take this opportunity to celebrate eight years of Lagalog.com and thank God, my family, all my friends, my travel buddies, all my readers and all who have, in one way or another, been a part of this site.  God bless you all more than you can ever imagine.

Skidding up and down the speedway and Drifting to Jesus with Dr. Drift

Dr. Drift burns rubber on the Clark Speedway

The bumper of his borrowed car had this sticker that read "Drift to Jesus."  Strange that in a sport seemingly propelled by the need for breakneck speed and wayward egos, one driver found his mission to proselytize.

Wearing my writer's hat on assignment for InFlight magazine gave me a chance to get out of my usual comfort zone of visiting/documenting travel sites and a rare opportunity to ride with Audel Sison aka Dr. Drift, the 2011 Philippine Pro-Am Lateral Drifting champion.  Part of the assignment was to actually drift with Audel and for someone whose driving speed max out in the 130s-140s, the experience was, pardon the cliche, a pure adrenaline rush.  I rode with Audel to the far side of the Clark Speedway when he offered to drift with me right there on the uphill loop while waiting for our photo team to arrive.  Wow, no time to get my head together but it was an offer too good to pass up.