*** MX-5 Miata Of the Month ***
March/April 2009Juny Binamira with Roxanne
Congratulations to Juny Binamira on the selection of his Miata as the MCP's Miata of the Month for March/April 2009. |
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March/April 2009Juny Binamira with Roxanne
Congratulations to Juny Binamira on the selection of his Miata as the MCP's Miata of the Month for March/April 2009. |
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Yup, me again... with my other Miata.
This time I want to try to explain why I joined the Miata Club in the first place. I cannot remember when, as a young boy, I decided that motorsport was absolutely the one thing I wanted to do. Most probably because I grew up with Georges Ramirez and his brothers, and every moment spent with them and Tito Pocholo was spent talking about driving and racing. I would listen with rapt attention while Tito Poch explained lines, braking, passing, dicing with other drivers, and every nuance of circuit racing - and this was even before I had ever driven a real car for the first time. We would watch 8mm films of the latest formula one race and Tito Poch would give us the blow-by-blow analysis of the race. Clark, Hill, Rindt, Fittipaldi, Revson, Cevert, Amon, Stewart - those were my heroes before I was fourteen. At night in bed, in the dark, I would rearrange my pillows so it felt like I was snuggled inside the monococque tub of a Lotus 49 and I would pretend I was driving the Nurburgring Nordschleife, in the rain... thirty years before Playstation 2. I had almost memorized that epic circuit - or so I thought anyway. I'd try to mimic the sound of those 3.0L V8 Ford DFV engines, reaching to shift an imaginary Hewland 5-speed crashbox, even made believe a black VDO tach was in front of me, canted to the left so that the 10,000 rpm redline was at the 12 o'clock position just like I knew the real one in the Lotus was set up to be. I'd practice heel-and-toeing while braking hard coming down thru the gears before the Adenauer Bridge - just like Tito Poch had taught us to do while eating dinner! I would fall asleep dreaming of Monza, Spa, Kyalami, Zandvoort, Monaco, Pau, Brands Hatch, and other great European circuits. We would go to every local race to watch Georges's dad do battle. Jojo Silverio was there too, and eventually we all became good friends. When Georges and Jojo started their own racing careers, I was always there, but on the sidelines, cheering them on and wishing that I too would one day race. But I also had other dreams, and it was these, and not the car racing ones, that eventually mapped out my professional adult life - in the sea. So for over thirty years I've been a marine guy - diving, underwater photography, beach resorts, sailing, building and designing boats. But the dream of one day racing cars never left me. Finally, three years ago, I moved back to Luzon (still doing boats) and got myself a Miata - another dream I first had back in '89 when the Miata first came out. Two weeks after I bought Natalie from Rey Reyes, I found myself at the BRC with the Mapua brothers, Hernan and Rene (Rene was another friend from long ago), on a week day, and we had the whole circuit to ourselves! My first lap out, I knew I had to go and race. Thanks again for that day Hernan and Rene! Two more weeks went by and I'm having a drink with Joselu Romero-Salas in Tali Beach, and Joselu was patiently explaining to me how I could join the Miata Cup races in Subic. Those were two great bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon - thank you Joselu and Kathy! The very next weekend, I attended my first meeting at the Polo Club and joined the Miata Club. Two more weeks passed, and I find myself at Subic Raceway - Natalie now sporting bigger 15" alloys and stickier rubber and a new rollbar thanks to Allan Lavarro. I'm nervously cruising the paddock with Joselu and he's introducing me to all the Miata racers - John and Bubi Camus, Joey Pery, Jenny Tan, William Tan, Romy David and of course, my idol, Tito Poch. Kookie Ramirez rode shotgun with me a few laps giving me some tips and to make sure I didn't go and kill myself. Once Kookie gave me his stamp of approval, I was set to join my very first circuit race - with my Natalie, in the street class. I was the only car in street class that weekend, and para sulit, I also joined Kookie's "run-what-you-brung" time-attack event that same weekend, to maximize my seat time. Anyway, I qualified dead last on the grid. When they called our first race, I nervously put on my helmet and headed out onto the grid. The wait was agonizingly long (and hot), but finally, they waved us off to do our formation lap, and finally this was it - I lined up behind seven race Miatas, clutch in, 1st gear engaged, revs at 4k, red lights go out, drop the clutch and we were off!!! I will NEVER forget that first time I went barreling into turn one behind everybody else - my heart rate must've been WOT, dust everywhere, the other guys (and girl) weaving about, trying to be in the best position and small stones RATATATING off my windscreen!! What a sensation. Of course, by turn 2 and 3 poor Natalie, all stock except for Koni shocks and Bridgestone GIII tires, was losing ground to the FI and NA monsters ahead - but turn one was the one that changed me forever. I finished both races that day, getting lapped by the whole field yes, but having a great time all by myself. After the day's racing was over, I looked at poor Natalie, noticed a few new nicks left by stone hits to her nose, the acrid smell of brake pads and burnt clutch wafting through the air, and promised her I would never again subject her to such abuse. I think Romy noticed this moment and mentioned that he had an extra race Miata, and maybe I might be interested to take it out for a few laps? So out I went, in the fading sunlight, in Romy's apple green JDM car with REAL racing coilovers... What a difference from my stock Natalie!! A few more weeks and some negotiating with Romy, and that car became my race car. Kookie even worked out a deal with a visiting student driver of his to rent the car for a few days - great deal. My son Sebastian told me he wanted it to be red, so we repainted it a bright crimson, put some retro white roundels on it and christened her Roxanne (the whore in a song by the Police). I've raced Roxanne for three seasons now, and she has had quite a few changes done to her - suspension, a few blown engines, a few bent body panels due to unintentional (hehehe) contact with the wall(s) of SIR and BRC. She's even been attacked by a bull in Batangas, but that's another story She's on her 3rd third paint job now, a mean matte black with orange wheels. Sorry for the long story, but that's how I finally ended up racing. And I'm not done yet - for I want to tell you WHY I love racing my Miata. For one thing (and maybe most important to me), there is the camaraderie at the track. I've raced group 3 production touring cars, and believe me, those guys don't know the meaning of camaraderie. In stark contrast, all the Miata drivers have a great time together on race weekends. We compare notes on tuning suspensions, engines, and racing lines. We laugh, we joke, and kid each other. Whenever something breaks, there is a flurry in the pits as rival teams try to find replacement parts to lend. We have dinner and drinks together. Once we get on the grid and the lights go green we are out and out racers, driving our hearts out to try to beat the next guy, but always with the spirit of sportsmanship foremost. Well, maybe once in awhile one of us overcooks it and a fender gets bent or some paint is traded (sorry Joselu! ), but it is all smiles at the end of the day, and race stories to fill the books. And I just love wheel-to-wheel racing. I've done time-attack, and autocross, and even once did a slalom... great fun, but for me anyway, I'm not in a race car to beat a clock - I want to dive into turn one, stones bouncing off my visor, eyes roaming my mirrors, trying to edge out the next guy. I want to follow the guy leading, apex after apex, lap after lap, waiting for an advantage, pushing till he makes a mistake, braking hard for the hairpin. I want to see the beads of his eyes in his mirrors, wondering when and where I will make my move. The puff of smoke from his front tire when he locks up, the fury when I miss a shift. The sheer frustration when something under the hood goes bang! This is RACING. And we have it - in the Miata Cup. The ONLY club in the country with our very own race series. I write this with a heavy heart, because I fear that this new season, we MIGHT not have enough cars on the grid. Times are tough, I know, and racing can be expensive. But we have our cars, and I do hope to see our beloved Miata Cup once again roar on the grid at Subic and maybe even BRC again. C'mon guys (Jenny!) - let's RACE. I do not want to race a Civic! Juny Binamira |
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