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8th Tour de Cebu vintage car rally rolls off in Bohol

In photo at the awarding ceremonies are Bai Burila (3rd overall), Michael James Lhuillier and Michael Lhuillier (Grand Champion, Pace Chairman Class Champion, Stage 1 & 2 winner, Best Period Dressed team), and Raju and Oscar Medalla (2nd overall, Roberto Aboitiz Class Champion).

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8th Tour de Cebu vintage car rally rolls off in Bohol

2023 Tour de Cebu: The Lhuillier Father and Son Duo Triumphs

The Central Visayas region takes pride in its charming countryside, splendid and scenic road network, rich culture and nature, and warm, friendly population.

In photo at the awarding ceremonies are Bai Burila (3rd overall), Michael James Lhuillier and Michael Lhuillier (Grand Champion, Pace Chairman Class Champion, Stage 1 & 2 winner, Best Period Dressed team), and Raju and Oscar Medalla (2nd overall, Roberto Aboitiz Class Champion).

And there’s no better way to explore these wonders than onboard classic cars piloted by the country’s most grizzled rally drivers. For almost a decade now, the Tour de Cebu (TDC) Historic Sports Car Rally has been doing just this in the country’s central archipelago.

In its recent eighth staging in Cebu and Bohol, the father and son duo of Michael and Michael James Lhuillier displayed their roadmanship to romp away with the 2023 Grand Championship trophy.

Tubigon municipal councilor Gail Jao flags off the Tour de Cebu in Bohol
Tubigon municipal councilor Gail Jao flags off the Tour de Cebu in Bohol

Organized by the Performance and Classics Enthusiasts of Cebu (PACE) and the Manila Sports Car Club (MSCC), the rally is a 1,000-km endurance drive to promote drive tourism in the region.

The Lhuilliers, who belong to the PACE club, won the 225-km Stage 1 from Tubigon to BE Grand Resort in Panglao and the 227-km Panglao to Catigbian Stage 2 to build a comfortable lead.

They also bagged the PACE Chairman Class and the Best Period Dressed Team plum, which matched their 1968 Mercedes Benz 280SL well.

Tubigon municipal councilor Gail Jao flags off the Tour de Cebu in Bohol
Tubigon municipal councilor Gail Jao flags off the Tour de Cebu in Bohol

Michael Lhuillier is the president and CEO of M Lhuillier Financial Services and one of the founders of the motoring event. He also topped the 2019 edition before the rally got suspended for two years due to the pandemic.

Sponsored by Petron Blaze and Petron Turbo Diesel, the TDC was flagged off at NUSTAR Resort, made a loop drive around the Cebu Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX), and boarded the Fast Cat ferry to Tubigon, Bohol, before going around the island province.

Another PACE club, the father and son tandem of Lui and Anton Alvarez and their 1973 Datsun 240Z, won the longest leg, the 237-km Stage 3 from Catigbian to Panglao, which traversed the eastern interior roads.

MSCC’s Bai Burila and Jelou Cabuga snatched the 141-km Stage 4 loop drive from Panglao and back on board their 1959 MGA deluxe Le…

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