III. 4. Volkswagens in Racing

A. Last year, 1996, Vintage car racing began in the Philippines. The first race participated by the VW Club members, was held at the Subic Racing Circuit. It was organized by the Manila Sports Car Club, the governing body for Vintage and Historic Car Racing in the Philippines. The FIA rules were waived for this races.

The Beetles at the First Historic Car Races at Subic Raceway. (Click at the photo for a larger image)

Here are excerpts from the write-up about the Subic Races as it appeared in theVW Club 1996 Yearbook.:

By way of an invitation from the Manila Sports Car Club, the VW Club of the Philippines eagerly participated in the First Philippine Historic Races held at the Subic International Raceway on May 4 & 5, 1996 in cooperation with the Japan Classic Car Association.

The VW Club was ably represented by:

Also, present were the two designated Club photographers Erle & Erwin Machate in their two-tone Beetle. Bash Candao also came and was designated as Clerk of Course.
The 1 km. Hillclimb Event at Aparri Road saw seasoned drivers like Mike Potenciano in his Porsche 911, the Japanese Drivers, the classy drivers from the Manila Sports Car Club, the VW Guys Aurelio, Galvez, Ruiz and Mencias scaling neck to neck.The Bug of Aurelio made a respectable clocking of 53 seconds. (If you remember, 53, is Herbie, the Love Bug's race number.)
The Sprint and Enduro Events came the following day. Scrutineering and practice laps were held.
At the starting grid, there was a Mustang Shelby, a Datsun Bluebird, a Porsche, a Honda and a British race car driven by Andy Sta Maria, President of the Manila Sports Club, and the Beetles representing the VW Club.
The Sprint race covered eight laps and the Enduro race for an hour. The meanest of the group held each other's neck, but the best from the VW Club took to the hilt with Ruiz and Galvez giving the seasoned drivers like Mike Potentiano a hard time. Alvin Dela Vega pushed his Bug to the max.
Dondi Mencias proved to the Japanese that his Bug could endure a 38 lap Enduro race without making a pit stop. In his desire to make a good clocking record, he spun 360 degrees near the chicane area.
Jimmy Galvez suffered a slight mishap. He lost traction and his Beetle's front end nudged a concrete barrier. He continued and won 3rd Place.

2. Marc Ablaza, another VW Club of the Philippines member, pioneered in the preparation and setting up of FIA-complying VW vintage racers. He is also the driver for those VW's. Here is an account of his activities:

1996 Vintage and Historic Race Season (Batangas Racing Circuit)

-         Campaigned a 1964 Karmann Ghia Convertible 1200cc
-         Best Finish: 2nd in Class behind 1959 MGA
-         Year was spent in research and development for effective and efficient race set-up for a           1200cc engine with matching race suspension set-up (king pin/link pin front, swing axle           rear)

1997 Vintage and Historic Race Season (BRC and Subic)

-           Campaigned a newly restored 1956 Oval Window Beetle
-           All previous development on the KG was transferred to the Beetle plus additional             development to compete effectively and efficiently (e.g. gearing, adjustable front and rear             suspension, tires)

-           Batangas Racing Circuit (March 1997)
-           1st in class (1300 and below), 7th place Over-all
            no major breakdown experienced, engine and suspension are very reliable for the circuit.

-          Subic International Raceway (May 1997)

-          1st in Class (1600 and below), 9th place overall
-          First time the Beetle beat the MGA and hopefully throughout the race season. Also the            first time we went up one class higher for the win.
-         No major breakdown experienced, engine made cooler by the addition of a raised           decklid, suspension adjusted to maximize efficiency for the very flat Subic track.

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