Oil industry leader Petron Corporation is continuing its support for the ultimate motorsport endurance event, the BOSS Ironman Challenge. Founded by the BMW Owners Society of Saferiders (BOSS), the challenge is the first of its kind to be organized in the country, debuting in 2005.
Now running on its twelfth consecutive year, the 2017 staging will kick-off at midnight of January 14. The event is open to motorcycles with engine displacement of 400cc and over, and any type of roadworthy vehicle.
Billed as a test of personal endurance and not a race, the BOSS Ironman Challenge will not have any winners or even a published list of finishers. Instead, participants are expected to gain the psychic reward of knowing that they were able to tackle the grueling 24-hour ride across 1,200-kilometers, while testing their road safety and navigation skills and, at the same time, proving their will to endure.
The 1,200-kilometer route kicks off from Clark, Pampanga, traversing the central and northern Luzon provinces of Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Benguet, Pangasinan, and Tarlac, to finish in Pampanga. With over 2,000 service stations nationwide, Petron is the ideal strategic partner for this event, as participants are assured of their fuel requirements through the entire run. In fact, due to their strategic sites, four of the five checkpoints will be at Petron service stations.
On the part of Petron, the endurance run is a worthy proving ground of their world class fuels and lubricants, particularly the new Petron Blaze 100 Euro 5 gasoline, the first Euro 5 standard fuel in the country. A breakthrough in fuels technology, Petron Blaze 100 Euro 5 contains significantly less sulfur and is 500% cleaner than standard Euro 4 fuels. It delivers the following benefits: (1) optimal power and acceleration due to extremely high octane and performance additives; (2) exceptional engine cleanliness because of its high quality base fuel and fully synthetic detergent additives; (3) better fuel economy due to its friction modifier and combustion improver additives; and (4) lower emissions and longer catalytic converter life.
While Petron Blaze 100 Euro 5 is recommended for high-end, high-performance vehicles such as the high-displacement big bikes, other vehicles will enjoy the same power and improved fuel economy because of its special formulation. For diesel-powered vehicles, Petron Turbo Diesel offers the tri-action advantages of better engine protection for longer engine life, better mileage for longer drives, and better power.
These are best matched with Petron’s range of world-class engine oils—Petron Ultron for gasoline engines, Petron Rev-X for diesel engines, and Petron Sprint 4T for motorcycle engines—to derive optimum efficiency and reliable performance through the punishing 24-hour non-stop run.
Proceeds of the 12th BOSS Ironman Challenge 2017 will go to worthwhile advocacies in health care, education, and disaster relief. Some of the projects that have already benefited include: (a) clothes and educational materials to the municipality of Balbasan, Kalinga Apayao; (b) refurbished computers, raincoats and slippers in Besao, Mt. Province; (c) medical and dental missions at Bulacao, Mindoro Oriental; San Mateo, Rizal; Calauan, Laguna; Botolan, Zambales; Catbalogan, Samar; San Miguel, Bulacan; Santa Maria, Bulacan; Abatan, Mt. Province, among others; and (d) relief assistance during various calamities.
The organizers, the BMW BOSS Club, is the only motorcycle club in the Philippines recognized by the BMW International Council.