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Isuzu Challenge 2007 goes the distance
Isuzu Philippines Corporation recently concluded ‘Isuzu Challenge 2007', a fun-filled 1,764-kilometer road trip from Luzon all the way to Mindanao, featuring the fuel-efficient Alterra 4x2 M/T, D-Max 4x2 M/T and Crosswind Sportivo M/T. It was held from August 21 to 26.
The Isuzu Challenge is a yearly event organized by IPC to showcase the fuel-efficiency of Isuzu's diesel engines. To further maximize the economy of Isuzu diesels, IPC partnered with Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, which provided its new and improved Shell Diesoline Ultra with a ‘fuel economy formula' to ensure fuel-efficiency for all participating Isuzu vehicles.
This year's challenge to parti-cipants was: "Can you go the distance?" Nine teams—three each for the Alterra, D-Max and Cross-wind categories—stepped up to the plate. The Alterra category featured the pairs of Oscar Nuke and David Aquino; Ronald Aguto and Hazel Aguto; and Anjo Perez and Pinky Colmenares. The D-Max category, meanwhile, had the tandems of Dennis Belda and Renato Palad Jr.; Jesus Christian Alday and Pastor Angulo; and Arcadio Cabuyao and Buenaventura Cabuyao. The Cross-wind category was contested by the duos of James Frederick Villaflores and Michael Villaflores; Ronaldo Cruz and Fortunato Santos; and Ron de los Reyes and Lester Dizon.
All participants were either Isuzu customers or members of the media. Also, IPC provided all the stock vehicles used in the contest to guarantee parity. The teams were made to drive with the air-conditioner on to simulate real-world driving conditions. The latest edition of the Isuzu Challenge has been the grandest ever since its introduction in 2002.
This year's challenge covered six regions, four islands and two RORO trips over six days. The event kicked off at Shell's Nagtahan station in Manila. The first lap saw the convoy driving a total of 640 kilometers through Camarines Sur and to Shell's station in Pampang, Sorsogon. In the second lap, the teams passed through San Juanico Bridge and the MacArthur Shrine to reach Shell's station in Liloan, Leyte—increasing the trip distance to 1,130 kilometers. The third and last lap had the group passing through Isuzu Cagayan de Oro and the Del Monte Golf Club, before finishing the entire journey at Shell's station on MacArthur Highway in Davao City. The total distance traveled was 1,764 kilometers.
There could only be one winning team per category. The Alterra category was won by Nuke and Aquino, who managed to squeeze 24.717 kilometers to a liter from their vehicle. The D-Max category was dominated by Belda and Palad, who posted a mileage of 24.172 kilometers to a liter. The Crosswind category was won by the media pair of de los Reyes and Dizon, who got 22.581 kilometers per liter.
Both the 53-year-old Nuke and the 46-year-old Aquino were Isuzu Challenge veterans. Businessman Nuke won first place in 2003 in the Trooper category, while gardening enthusiast Aquino also topped the Trooper category the following year.
Buddies Belda and Palad were the youngest in the group—just 22 and 24 years of age, respectively. Belda assists in his family's general merchandise business, with Palad accompanying him on delivery trips.
De los Reyes, 53, is the producer and host of the Auto Review moto-ring TV show, while Dizon, 42, is the editor of Motorcycle Magazine. Both are also Isuzu Challenge veterans.
For their efforts, the winning teams each received P100,000 in cash, a trophy and giveaways. The first and second runners-up were awarded P50,000 and P25,000, plus trophies and giveaways.
"With Isuzu Challenge 2007, we were able to show that achieving fuel economy need not be boring, especially when you're driving fun but hardworking vehicles like the Alterra, the D-Max and the Crosswind," said IPC president Keiji Takeda. "Test-drive an Isuzu today so you, too, can go the distance."
Isuzu Challenge 2007 was sponsored by Pilipinas Shell and supported by Star Communications Holdings, Oceanic Shipping, and Winterpine Marketing.
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Top Gear Philippines - October 2007
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