Putting a stop to illegal racing

Atty. Jerome G. Neri
The Scrutineer

IN THE recently concluded Japanese car festival held at Parkmall, Group B Automotive walked away with prestigious awards, the most prestigious of which was the Best Japanese Car Award. The car was a completely restored 1998 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Type R V-Limited, a rare car of which only 1,000 units were made to commemorate the 1997 World Rally Constructors Championship win of Subaru.

Another surprise award was that the in-house receptionist of Group B Automotive, Rosemarie Abing, won Best Car Show Model, winning over professional models. Other awards garnered by Group B Automotive were Best SUV with their restored 1997 Subaru Forester STI and Best Race Inspired Car with their 1986 Toyota Corolla AE86.

ILLEGAL STREET RACE. Last week, there was this Facebook page that drew my curiosity. It was called Kanjo Run Manila. They claimed to be organizing an illegal street race in the streets of Manila. The details were to be disclosed at a briefing to be held somewhere in Bonifacio Global City last Feb. 22. I Googled Kanjo run to see what it is about.

The Kanjo run has its history in Osaka, Japan. It is an illegal street race that is run on the Kanjo Highway. The Kanjo Highway is a loop and is therefore like a circuit. In layman’s terms, a Kanjo race would be an illegal circuit race that is held on a public road/highway, usually in the wee hours. Nothing is more stupid and more dangerous that this kind of street race.

Many of us had our share of recklessness when we were young: we drove fast, had some car chases, and maybe even participated in a few illegal street drag races. This recklessness is dangerous – not only does it endanger the person behind the wheel, but also other people nearby. Kanjo racing raises the danger to a totally different and dangerous level.

A drag race is only 400 meters and lasts for only a few seconds. Despite its being short, illegal street drag racing has already claimed a number of lives. A Kanjo race would last for minutes, would be kilometers long, and would involve more cars that would be running at sustained speeds, all jockeying for position and trying to win. This race should be stopped and I hope the authorities find who these organizers are and stop them before someone gets killed.

Netizens have done their part in discouraging this race from happening. A lot of reputable car people have posted in the Kanjo Run Manila page to abandon their stupid idea and do their racing on the race track. Someone even offered to pay for the track day fees of these daredevil morons. Yet they remain defiant. Those who posted and pleaded with them not to pursue with this race got ridiculed and called names. I likewise posted my two cents on their page. As of this writing, I cannot seem to access their page anymore. Either they took it down permanently or they just went secret.

Being an active member in the car community here in Cebu, I have not heard of any illegal street races involving cars. I hope we can keep it this way, as there are upcoming races such as the Kartzone Auto X series where one can race in a controlled environment. Let’s keep racing where it belongs: on the race track.