Dela Merced quenches need for speed with Cannonball

MANILA, Philippines - Celebrity racecar driver Gaby dela Merced is quenching her need for speed with the Cannonball 1000, a novel motorsports event featuring cars and motorcycles traversing the scenic routes of North Luzon covering 1,000 kilometers for a single day.

Dela Merced, an Asian Formula 3 veteran, who was also a housemate during the Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition in 2007, will be coming home to the Philippines from the US, to join the Jan. 9 event.

Riders will be testing their superbikes and cars to the limit in the 24-hour journey from the Widus Hotel and Casino in Clark Pampanga on the night of the run organized by six-time endurance champion Joey Almeda.

Prominent personalities have already made themselves available for the event, such as Danby Henares, host of the TV show Xtreme Riders, long-distance Fil-Am rider Rene Marquez, actors Richard Gutierrez and Dominic Ochoa, actresses Diana Zubiri and Jackie Rice, chef Andrew Lopez, host/model Andy Smith, Team Thunderbugs from Bacolod City, led by its chairman Manuel Lamata, and Manila Sportscar Club’s Joe LaO, Oscar Medalla and Michael Aguilar, who will be using their half-car, half-motorcycle Morgans.

The event, also backed by Ducati (Access Plus); Granstar Motors (Vespa, Aprilia, KTM); and BMW, is open to all cars and motorcycles with displacements of 300cc and above to ride along the scenic North Luzon loop, passing through towns of Baloc, Ilagan, Tuguegarao, Aparri, Pagudpud, Laoag, Vigan, La Union, Baguio, and Tarlac and back to Clark.

Underbones and scooters pegged at 300cc and below will fall under a class of their own, the Cannonball 500, which will be tracing a similar but more compact route of 500 kms under a 12-hour time limit.

Registration updates, details: www.cannonballclubph.com or Cannonball Club tel.  +63-927-360-7309 or  +63-919-610-0588.or Facebook.