Cheer on the DOT-backed GR Yaris rally car in WRC2
Spanish team bearing DOT slogan as its livery
By Inigo Roces
If the Philippines begins to see an influx of tourists from Europe any time soon, it might have something to do with a Spanish rally team bearing the ‘Love the Philippines’ slogan on its hood while catching some serious air.
The Philippines’ latest tourism slogan is emblazoned across the hood of a World Rally Championship 2 (WRC2) car. It’s hard to miss thanks to the rainbow-colored livery. And this season, we’re likely to see more of that vehicle in the coming rounds as the team is currently in second place in its division standings.
WRC2 is just a class below the premier division, WRC, and is often a jumping point for competitors to enter into the top class.
The car is entered by the PH.Ph WRC Team run by Teo Martin Motorsport, which counts 2024 as its premier season in WRC2. The car they’ve entered is a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. The team will contest a total of seven rounds (out of 13) in the championship. Driving the car is Spanish driver Jan Solans at the wheel with Rodrigo San Juan as the co-driver.
The backing of the Philippine government is no coincidence as co-driver Rodrigo San Juan was also navigator to Miguel Diaz-Aboitiz who also entered the WRC2 division in 2022 with a rally car bearing the Philippine flag and the Philippine Aboitiz Group’s sponsorship.
Driver Solans, on the other hand, boasts of a decade’s worth of rally experience despite being just 26-years-old. He won the Junior World Rally Championship in 2019 in a Ford Fiesta R2.
The ‘Love the Philippines’ livery is there thanks to the support of our very own Department of Tourism, recognizing the large following the World Rally Championship commands and how many eyes will see our tourism slogan.
Thus far, the PH.Ph WRC Team is having a good season, with Solans securing first place in Rally de Portugal (May 9 -12, 2024) and third in the recently concluded Rally Italia Sardegnia (May 31 – June 2, 2024). This puts him in second place in the current driver’s championship standings. The team’s next outing is the WRC Acropolis Rally Greece (Sept. 5 – 8, 2024).
It’s certainly sight to see the country’s new tourism slogan reaching racing across the world’s most scenic rally locations. Cheer on the team when it joins its next race at the WRC Acropolis Rally Greece from Sept. 5 – 8, 2024.