To the best of our knowledge, there has been no Filipino driver (who has officially competed) in Formula 1, Le Mans 24 Hours, and the World Rally Championship (WRC) which are the holy grails of motorsport… or so we thought. Because to our surprise, there’s apparently someone racing the Philippine flag in the WRC and has been doing so for the last three years.
His name is Miguel Diaz.
Born to a Spanish father and a Filipina mother, he competes with a Filipino AAP-issued Competition License in WRC2. And since 2020, Miguel has been campaigning a Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo at legendary special stages around the globe such as Monaco, Finland, Sardegna, and Acropolis just to name a few. Miguel tells us that the car, mechanics, and logistics are all handled by Calm Competició, allowing him to focus solely on driving.
Buy why is it, that in all these years, we haven’t heard anything about Miguel?
Truth of the matter is, he personally doesn’t believe that what he does is newsworthy enough. Before making the switch to WRC2, he tried his luck in circuit races and even entered a few endurance events such as the Nürburgring 24 Hours. But his heart truly belonged in rallying and in 2007 made the switch to race historics. Over several years Miguel toured the best stages in Finland in an assortment of machinery that included the likes of the Renault 5 Alpine, Ford Sierra RS Cosworth, and his personal favorite the Ford Escort RS 2000 Mk II.
While those outings ticked off a number of items on Miguel’s bucket list, he was craving for more. His dream is to race against the clock on some of the most legendary special stages around the world, which just so happens to be staple checkpoints on the WRC2 calendar.
Even though Miguel thinks that a 56-year-old Filipino driver in WRC2 isn’t worth any attention, there’s a local company that does. The Aboitiz Group is undertaking the ‘Great Transformation’ initiative to become the Philippines’ first Techglomerate by 2025. It puts innovation at the forefront of its growth strategy, bolstered by motivated and curious team members. The group believes that these values are closely mirrored by Miguel’s endeavors in WRC2, making him the perfect platform to promote the brand’s awareness on the rally stages.
“The GT2025 is all about speed, excitement, performance, and achievement through rough roads – and so we felt this was a great symbol of that,” said Aboitiz Group President and CEO Sabin Aboitiz.
Since last year, the Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo of Miguel Diaz prominently wears the red colors of Aboitiz and the Great Transformation branding on its bodywork. It’s been confirmed that the partnership is to continue in 2023 where Miguel and co-driver Rodrigo San Juan will enter as privateers.
“I am very thankful, and feel very proud, to be able to carry the flag of the country where my mother was born,” shared Miguel. “With the [Great Transformation] logo, again, I feel proud to carry those colors on my car and on my suit.”
The Great Transformation brand will accompany Miguel across seven events in 2023. It starts with Rally Sweden this February, Rally de Portugal in May, Safari Rally Kenya in June, Rally Finland in August, Acropolis Rally Greece in September, Central Europe Rally in October, and finally Rally Japan in November.
