Racing legend reveals his love for racing began

Jose del Rosario Ramirez, also known as Pocholo Ramirez, is recognized in motoring and racing circles as a legend in Philippine racing. His popularity extends to his participation in the Petron Xtra Mile challenge. Yes, he is the guy who drove the Honda Jazz up to pagudpud with only a full tank gas. Yet, there lies a "Pocholo Ramirez truth" beneath driving cars, winning races and beating records.

The root of his racing career.
In this dayand age, when popular race drivers have more often than not started racing or karting at a young age, it is quite suprising to learn that Mr. Pocholo Ramiraz actually started his career at the ripe age of thirty. One would expect a lifetime of racing to go hand in hand with the status and reputation. according to him, everything started with couple of incidents. The first one was street racing in Park Avenue, New York City. After their run, he discovered that he drove against a professional. Not only that, his opponent actually thought that he was a professional and told him he had a talent for racing.

The second incident was selling his Porsche. his car went to a lousy driver, but one who drove different racing tournaments and competitions. He tought that if these were the kind of drivers who competed, then he'd centainly win!

A Driver's Thrill and Learning
Even after so many years, Mr. Ramirez says that there's still a kind of thrill in racing that doesn't go away. People have impression that racecar drivers are daredevils, but actually racecar drivers should have self-controll. Knowing one's limits, knowing the car's limits and constantly pushing it, without actually going over it is part of the enjoyment of racing.

A Legend's Racing Principle
For Pocholo Ramirez, there's a certain principle in racing. It's not whether you win or lose a race, but how you feel about how you drove that matters. According to him, winning is not the real purpose. If you win but acted like bad driver on the track, then it doesn't relly count.

There are certain qualities that a racer should have, according to Mr. Ramirez. One is that he should havethe proper attitude which include perseverance, Mr. Ramirez' advice to young racers: "Drive with somebody better than you." For him, one shouldn't stop striving to become a better driver that one already is. Aspiring racers should also stay focused and shouldn't give up trying to reach their goals.

Business in the making
It's hard to imagine Pocholo Ramirez as somebody other than a racecar driver. It's just so natural for him that it's almost impossible for him to picture him doing something else. But he there was a time that racing wasn't a part of his life. If he didn't become a racecar driver, he says that he would probably still be in the hotel business. But he says that he's just happy that he's fortunate enough to be able to do what he loves.

The Article Above Originally Found at Challenge The Honda Magazine, Vol. 11 Issue no.11 on page 14 The H-Files.