Enthusiasts form Philippine 80s DTM Revival

The Philippine 80s DTM Revival started as an idea three years ago when avid car enthusiasts Miguel Dizon, Francis Aguila and Manolet Ramos about bringing back young timers racing in Germany. The friendly competition based race is dedicated to bringing back the cars and excitement of 80s DTM racing. For those unfamiliar with DTM, it stands for Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterscahft or in plain English 'German Touring Car Championship'. The 80's DTM era featured legendary cars like the BMW E30 3er, BMW E26 6er, and Mercedes-Benz 190E.

After a concept was formed, they approached Martin Galan of the Manila Sports Car Club (MSCC) and Rene Mapua of the Miata Club of the Philippines (MCP); the two clubs had a similar 'friendly races' format and had the same passion for cars as well. The group held its first ever event on September 29, 2012 at the Batangas Racing Circuit (BRC) as a support event of the MSCC Vintage Car Race and Miata Cup of the MCP.

For the inaugural race, Dizon and Aguila wanted an invitation-based format for participants to ensure that everyone had basic to advanced circuit driving experience for safety reasons. To support the movement, the group gained partnership from ARC Autmotive, Brembo Brakes, Refinish Line, Sonax Professional Car Care, Bilstein, H&R, Liqui Moly, and Mio Watch. "We wanted to make sure everyone had more or less a similar level of driving skill to make things safe and fun. We're very grateful to have supportive partners to help us start up the event," says Aguila.

Like anything mechanically old, the relatively seasoned cars encountered problems from potential participants. The weather in Metro Manila and parts of Southern Luzon did not cooperate as well. However, this did not deter the group from pushing through. A total of six participants comprised mostly of BMWs with a lone Mercedes-Benz 190E showed up for action come raceday. Some of the cars dropped out of the grid due to mechanical problems.

The warm up race still proved to be a competitive race with Patrick Chan and his BMW E30 M3 gave the crowd something to cheer about as he dueled with Paolo Arespacochaga in a BMW E30 325i.

For the main event, the Mercedes-Benz banner was proudly raised by professional race driver and car enthusiast George Apacible as he dominated the race on his 'just finished' 190E 2.3-16. Patrick Chan followed in close second, while Neil Monzones took home third aboard his BMW E30 320i.

The theme for the day at the circuit was nostalgia with the inimitable sound and energy of friendly motorsport competition.