SAN FELIPE, Zambales—Noel Bartolome Jr. had repeatedly seen his father hurdle countless offroad obstacles and go up the podium when he was a little boy.
More than a decade later, the younger Bartolome took on that role as he ruled the 2nd Governor Jun Ebdane 4×4 Offroad Challenge yesterday in Barangay Sindol here.
Impressive in the sand-and-mud Track A but struggling in the less vicious Track B, the 25-year-old driver from Land Rover Club of the Philippines pulled off the fastest clocking of six minutes and 16.22 seconds in Track C which proved decisive.
Bartolome’s superb run in Track C, featuring a combination of the A and B courses’ technical difficulty, gave him a winning total of 34:44.23 counting his combined time of 28:28.01 in the two initial courses.
“I wasn’t expecting much to dominate here,” said Bartolome, who outshone even his father, a many-time national champion who also raced for Land Rover. “I’m very proud of this victory.”
Finishing second to last among 10 drivers in Track B in 21:38.16, Bartolome showed flashes of his brilliant pedigree after he tamed the more cruel Track A in 6:49.85.
Bartolome trailed Pampanga Offroaders Club’s John Sambo (11:07.04, 5:08.29 and 16:16.13 total) after completing Tracks A and B but was ahead of Arthur Sicat of Angeles City 4-Wheel Drive Club (14:12.62, 15:49.87 and 30:02.49 total) before stunning everybody in Track C.
Sicat went on to place second overall (46:57.12) while Sambo wound up third (52:16.13).