MINERVA BC NEWMAN
CEBU CITY – Tour de Cebu (TDC), the country’s only 1000 km. touristic and historic rally is back on the road across the Visayas for its 7th year, flagging from Cebu City to Bohol Province with some 40 vintage sports cars joining the rally on September 29 to October 2, this year.
“We are very happy to bring Tour de Cebu back after a hiatus of two years. This is seven years in the making and most of these participating cars are 50-60 years old. We will start via the CCLEX drive by, depart Cebu for Bohol by RORO and the official flag-off is in Bohol for the 1000 km. rally in three days,” Michael Lhuillier, one of the founding members of Tour de Cebu said in a press briefing recently.
Lhuiller shared that the event is managed and organized by Tradeshow International, Inc. (TSI) and it is open to sports cars manufactured in 1972 and older. TDC is presented once more by the Performance and Classics Enthusiasts (PACE) of Cebu with the support of the Manila Sports Car Club (MSCC).
PACE Founding Members, Michael Lhuillier, Jay Aldeguer and Kenneth Cobonpue are themselves motorsports enthusiasts, owners of some of the most expensive sports cars and are very passionate in refurbishing and taking care of their cars as all of them are.
Cobonpue said that this year, there are two ladies’ team from Manila joining Tour de Cebu. “We would like to bring Cebu as a world class tour that is one of its kind and the TDC not only as a motorsport but a lifestyle and a rolling museum of vintage cars; man, and machine, you and the road must be an experience with TDC,” Cobonpue added.
Tour De Cebu was originally conceptualized as a celebration of a decade of friendships formed and shaped by the open road, but has blossomed into a major driver for road tourism, highlighting the beautiful roads and highways as well areas briefings the many scenic spots that the Visayan islands have to offer, according to Cobonpue.
TDC has captured the imagination of many classic car enthusiasts and fans and it was awarded the 2019 Sports Tourism Adventure Event of the Year by the Sports Tourism Awards Group in recognition of all the efforts of the sponsors and participants, the organizers said.
According to Chris Tio, TDC Grand Marshall that the tour is inspired by the famed Mille Miglia in Brescia, Italy and is a time management race that puts priority on accuracy and being “on time all the time.”
Tio bared that TDC follows the “Regularity Rally” or the time-speed-distance (TSD), a type of motorsport rally with the object of driving each segment of a course in a specified time at a specified average speed, usually conducted on public roads, sometimes include off-road and track sections.
Contestants usually compete in teams composed of an amateur driver and navigator and teams usually start a regularity rally at fixed intervals, creating a field that is spread along the course, as Wikipedia explains it.
Highlights and itinerary of Tour De Cebu 2022
According to Tio, this year’s Tour De Cebu has a couple of special cars, newly refurbished vintage cars, sometimes there are many surprises along the route including the rain and the routes itself, these are the things the participants look forward to.
“Tour De Cebu is forming memories, it is a family, the regularity rally gives them the average time to reach every destination or check points and they are bonded for life with this sports car event. What you put out, what you see is what you get and we are expecting some 40 to 44 or maximum 50 cars joining the rally,” Tio revealed.
TDC 2022 will also give the Roberto Aboitiz AWARDS, the most prestigious awards to cars with most repair and most raced. This year has special classes and passes too supported by the oldest Manila Sportscar Club.
Tour De Cebu’s general itinerary begins on September 29 with the welcome event, drivers’ briefing and public viewing and photo shoots of cars at the NuStar Resort & Casino Canopy at 1:00 p.m.
On September 30, all participating cars gather at NuStar Resort for the ceremonial flag-off, CCLEX drive by and departure from Cebu for Bohol by RORO and official flag-off is in Bohol at Tubigon Port and a welcome ceremony at BE Resort, its official hotel in Bohol.
On October 1 is the second leg of the rally and fellowship dinner at BE Resort and by October 2 comes the last leg of the rally and departure from Bohol to Cebu via RORO and on October 3 will be awards and breakfast at NuStar Resort & Casino.
Some of this year’s entries which make #TourDeCebu a touristic rally and a rolling museum at the same time are: 1979 Opel GT, 1957 MGA, 1972 Porsche 914, 1868 Alfa Romeo Giulia, 1965 Porsche 912, 1970 Lancia Fulvia Zagato, 1968 Mercedes Benz 280 SL, 1960 Porsche 356B Cabriolet, 1974 MGB, 1961 Jaguar XKE, 1972 Datsun 240Z, 1968 Porsche Targa, 1963 Corvette, 1974 Alfa Romeo Spider, 1966 Toyota Sports 800, 1966 Shelby Mustang, 1971 Lotus Europa, Michel Speedster, Michel Spyder, Kougar Jaguar, 1969 Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV, 1969 BMW 2002.
