Schooling the youngsters, Acayan wins 2019 PHRX Championship

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WINNING NEWS FROM THE RACING INDUSTRY

SCHOOLING THE YOUNGSTERS, ACAYAN WINS 2019 PHRX CHAMPIONSHIP

The Philippine Rallycross Series has been advocating the revival of the rally racing scene in the country. Inspired by the heydays of local rally racing back in the 80s to 90s, the people behind PHRX have been organizing dirt time trial racing since 2015. The series have since produced countless champions and one of the recent champions of the series is veteran rally driver and navigator, Steve Acayan.

Acayan was hailed champion of the Group 2 Classification of the 2019 season. Another perk of being champion in this category, Acayan also gets the honor of being a Golden Wheel Driver of the Year for Rallycross awardee. The Golden Wheel is a prestigious award-giving body recognizing the best in the local motorsports scene.

Though the current pandemic postponed Acayan from receiving these awards, the PHRX champion was kind enough to sit down and reminisce his journey towards championship last year.

Steve Acayan (center, checkered polo) together with PHRX directors (L-R) Eggay Quesada, Ronnie Trinidad, and Olson Camacho.

ROAD TO CHAMPIONSHIP

Despite his vast experience in racing on dirt, Acayan’s championship did not come easy. He has been joining since the first season of the series in support of the revival of the sport. With him regularly joining the series, Acayan saw the growth of PHRX not only in terms of numbers but as well as the talent the competitors developed through the years. “The number of competitors in the 2019 season was a record number since PHRX series started in 2015. The competition in all vehicle classes was intense and all drivers showed up every leg well prepared,” said Acayan.

Despite his seniority in the dirt racing, Acayan also iterated that novice drivers are getting better in driving on dirt as the season progressed. “We started the 2019 season with my underpowered Lancer Cedia and we had a difficult time keeping up with the competition in groups 2 and 3. By the third round in Clark, Pampanga, we finally got our 4AGE-powered Corolla E110 running wherein we got our first group 2 win.”

Winning on the first outing in the new car was not just luck. Acayan shared, “the first time I used the corolla, I really had to make adjustments since it was a quicker car. We constantly had to make improvements in the cars handling to maximize its potential.”

Even with the newfound pace in his new rally car, competition got even tougher midway into the season. “It was still not easy as many drivers in Group 2 also had the speed. It was clear that the Group 2 championship would only be decided in the last round.”

When asked how he earned the championship, the veteran racer said, “we just tried to keep up with our competitors and luckily we bagged the championship in the end.”

Acayan has been attributing his championship to the team behind his races. “I have to give it to Jun Magno and his mechanics at Debest Autofix for preparing and maintaining the Corolla. The car sports a stock 4AGE “Black Top” engine. What we did is make the car lighter by using fiberglass body parts. The rally-spec suspension definitely helped in improving the handling of the car. Having the whole team of Debest Autofix behind me every race gave me the confidence to drive as quick as possible.”

THEN AND NOW

Being a champion is not something new for Steve Acayan. He has been a national rally champion back in 1995 when he served as the navigator of the STP Toyota Levin AE86 piloted by the late Paeng Nodalo. Despite being recognized during the glory days of the sport in the country, his recent championship is still something special for Acayan. “This championship is special as this is my first time to win a national championship as a driver. Also, with my years of experience in rally events, winning at my age proves that veterans can still be competitive.”

Acayan also shared that he is pleased that many are now interested in rally racing. “I am happy that rallying is back and alive thanks to the people behind PHRX. Their efforts despite the limited resources and sponsors show their love for the sport. The number of competitors competing now shows the potential for rallycross and rally to improve further.”

When asked what his future racing plans is, Acayan responded, “we continue to join these events to show our support for PHRX. I am hoping that the 2021 season finally pushes through. I will be back to defend the Group 2 championship and hopefully try and win the Group 3 championship, too. WILLIAM HERRERA