Milo Rivera, Slalom Car Racing Champion
As a child, race car driver, Milo Rivera ventured on playing cars. Being born to a family of car enthusiasts, he learned to love cars but did not feel or think that he’d eventually become a race car driver. Before joining various race car events, he first started with go-kart racing in 2008, loved the sport and eventually ended up being engaged in car races.
Most people don’t see motorsports as a very demanding sport. They only think that it would involve driving it as fast as you can, but there is actually more to motorsports than that. As a race car driver, Milo makes sure that he is prepared for a race by maintaining a healthy lifestyle, continuously working out and having mental exercises that will make him fit for a competition he is competing for.
IMAGE Instagram: @milorivera_
Slalom is a certain kind of car discipline. He chose to focus on this discipline in 2009 after his uncle who was also a national champion retired from the said sport encouraged him to continue the legacy he had left as a racer. 2017 marks Milo’s 4th straight national championship, but recalling winning for the first time is something that he considers as something very special for him as a race car driver.
Winning a lot of international races meant a lot for him, for through his wins, it also showed how Filipinos can compete alongside race car drivers worldwide. During the 10th leg of the 2017 Race Motorsports Club-Phoenix National Slalom Series, Milo was once again able to bring home the bacon by winning his 10th straight race and his fourth consecutive overall slalom crown.
Aside from winning his 10th straight race and obtaining his crown, Milo will once again represent the country and fight for the crown in the upcoming Taiwan Leg of the Asian Auto Gymkhana Championships happening this coming October 28 to 29, 2017 in Taoyuan, Taiwan.
His advice for aspiring race car drivers however is “Even if it may sound cliché, you must have the passion and learn to love what you are doing; keep in mind that race car driving is not about having the fastest car, not about having the best equipment but about training yourself, keeping yourself disciplined because if you really love what you are doing, you could do everything to make it happen. There will always be hindrances to achieving your goal, but don’t let all these define you instead, consider these as motivators to help you get back up.”
Written By: Patricia Antoinette M. Nacianceno
Image Source: Manila Standard, Instagram: @milorivera_
