I’ve seen “Fast and the Furious,” “Need for Speed,” “Born to Race,” and “Gone in 60 Seconds,” just to name a few.
Image source: Universal Pictures
But, what I haven’t tried is to actually race or at least be inside a race car. Thankfully, that dream came true when I had the opportunity to drift with the Drift King himself, Keiichi Tsuchiya at the first leg of Vios Cup 2017. Living in the fast lane isn’t for the faint hearted.
I, therefore, conclude that racing is a shot of NOS straight to the vein!
You may read the full interview with DK here: When In Manila Cars: One on One Interview with Drift King Keiichi Tsuchiya
It was a spine-tingling moment that only adrenaline junkies could define. My boys have a knack for cars. The majority of their toys are already broken except for their set of Hot Wheels.
One of them wants to fulfill his dream of being a racer. “I want to be a racer when I grow up,” says my youngest son.
Photo courtesy of Not Your Ordinary Mum IG account. The kids had a field day riding the GoCart and playing all day at Clark Speedway, where Vios Cup 2017 was held.
At that moment, I knew I had to interview the youngest racer and the overall champion at the first leg of Vios Cup 2017, Daniel Miranda. (Thanks to our friends from Toyota Motor Philippines for making this e-interview happen).
The 20-year-old Miranda finished the race in 27:59.770 and beat 2016 Vios Cup overall champion Allan Uy of Toyota Quezon Avenue (28:00.973) for top honors in the morning races. Miranda was quoted as saying that “It’s amazing! I couldn’t have done it without the team’s support. They did a good job with this car, when I was driving it I was so relaxed, everything was so chill.”
Since he started young and has achieved a barrage of achievements in the racing industry, I thought, he’d be helpful for our children (or kid-at-heart) to share a few pieces of advice on unleashing someone’s passion for racing and cars.
Allow me to share his answers:
When In Manila Millie: Please share a bit of yourself. Anything you like and dislike?
Daniel Miranda: My name is Daniel Miranda and I am originally from Cebu. Ever since I was a kid, I always loved cars and racing. So, one day I asked my parents if I can go to the track and try to kart, they took me out for a whole day and ever since then I got addicted to it. Racing makes me push myself to be a more focused and also it teaches me to be more [in] dependent in my everyday lifestyle.
I like anything fast, in everything I do I always look for something I can push myself to my limits and I always find anything I can do to be better and to keep on improving to be successful.
WIM: How long have you been racing?
DM: I have been racing for 6 years now. I started go-karts in Cebu and after 1 year in Cebu I moved to Manila to race nationally, and when I got my karter of the year here in Manila I started racing internationally like Singapore, Indonesia, Macau and other Asian countries.
WIM: Could you please share your thoughts when you were invited to race at Vios Cup?
DM: Vios cup is the best racing series here in the Philippines since everything is fair, we are all equal so it really depends on how you drive the car. Every time I go out and drive I always look for the small bits to improve on, I always push my self to my limits. My Team is always there to support me and my other teammates without them this all wouldn’t be possible. My Boss Cosco and all the sponsors make everything possible in the Vios cup. I am now currently first place in the championship and we just have 1 race to go this coming November, hopefully, everything goes well for me to get my championship for this year.
WIM: Do you get road rage? I hate drivers without road courtesy.
DM: I personally drive on the roads, but me as a race car driver we know it is unsafe to drive fast on the roads. When we want to take our cars and drive fast we always bring it on the track since it is the safest thing to do.
WIM: Kids love cars. And, given a chance, they’d probably want to race as well. What advice would you like to give them?
DM: To everyone who loves cars and racing, everything is possible. If you have a dream to be a race car driver there is always a way and you can always learn to be one. Patience, practice, and hard work will lead you to be successful.
WIM: I always ask my guests to answer this: kindly complete the sentence: “When in Manila _________?”
DM:
When in Manila, everything is fun! 
In one of the interviews with Daniel during the first leg, the Cebuano racer said he enjoys the speed and was happy he finished the race with no accidents or bumping into another racer.
Indeed this racer is enjoying “life in the fast lane” and is thankful that he came out in one piece.
See you all on the last leg of Vios Cup 2017!
Do you think your kid is born to race? What advice would you give them? Share your answers in the comments!
Featured image by Universal Pictures
