Following the 2023 Tarlac Rally season opener last June at the New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac, the Philippine Rallycross Series (PHRX) held the second round of the two-part series in San Jose, Tarlac on July 29, 2023. The Honorable Mayor Romeo Capitulo flagged off each vehicle at the San Jose Municipal Hall.
Composed of five special stages (SS) with a total SS distance of 73.04 kilometers, the second round was held on all tarmac stages, unlike the opening round, which had stages on gravel, tarmac, and mud. And despite the stormy weather, all entrants successfully crossed the finish line, traveling a total rally distance of 88.05 kilometers.
“The super typhoon was quite overwhelming, making it impossible for many competitors to join the rally. However, we as organizers, have been ready for a rainy rally since a few months back following the postponement of the season opener, which was supposed to be in May. We were ready whether it be rain or (moon)shine, and so we decided to give it a go,” said Olson Camacho, Tarlac Rally Organizer.
Repeating their first-round success, Marvin Susara and co-driver Charlie Cruz in their Vios-powered Toyota Corolla E10, defended their Group 1 win with a total rally time of 54 minutes and 44 seconds, the second fastest overall time of the rally. With a rally time of 1 hour, 7 minutes, and 4 seconds, Mark Desales and co-driver Ricxie Dela Cruz in their Corolla E11 XE took second place.
Paul Santos drove his Honda Civic EK rally car to the Group 2 victory. Together with co-driver Ansley Sarmiento, the duo recorded a total rally time of 55 minutes and 51 seconds, which makes the team the third-fastest overall finishers of the rally.
Group 3 was won by Louie Camacho and co-driver John Rey San Diego in their Toyota Corolla E11 GLi. Redeeming their DNF (did not finish) in the first round, the duo recorded a total rally time of 54 minutes and 15 seconds, which puts them as the unofficial fastest overall rally finishers.
For the RWD Class, the team of veteran rally driver Jun Magno and co-driver Kalvin Sumagui in their Toyota 3SGE-swapped BMW E36 emerged victorious with a total rally time of 1 hour and 19 seconds. Finishing in second place, E.Z. Ligaya and navigator Stephen Alunan clocked a total rally time of 1 hour, 9 minutes, and 32 seconds.
Redeeming themselves from the previous rally’s DNF, Allan Sarmiento and navigator Austin Sarmiento emerged as AWD class winners with their total rally time of 58 minutes and 28 seconds in their Toyota Rav4 rally car.
The awarding ceremony of the 2023 Tarlac Rally was held during Okada Manila’s Motorsport Carnivale awards night on August 6 at the Glass Ballroom, Okada Manila.
With the rally season officially over, the Philippine Rallycross Series gears up to resume the 2023 season of its dirt trial series. Like and follow the Philippine Rallycross Series Facebook page to learn more about the second half of the 2023 dirt trial series.