The family name ‘Ramirez’ has always been synonymous to Philippine motorsports. It all started with their patriarch, the legendary Jose ‘Pocholo’ Ramirez, who raced in the ’60s all the way to the ’00s. He then passed this heritage onto his sons, who then passed it on to their own sons when the right time came. 2024 happened to be the right time for Jaime San Diego Ramirez when he officially joined the ‘family business’ and entered the Formula V1 Challenge.
Jaime is the son of touring car driver Louis Ramirez. Some of his earliest memories involved spending almost every weekend at the family-owned Subic International Raceway (SIR), watching his dad and uncles Kookie, Georges, and Miguel race on track.
“My fondest memory would be that time my dad put me on his lap in the race car and made me steer around the whole track. I was around 6 at the time,” he happily recalled. “At a young age, I felt lucky to have experienced being behind the wheel of a race car instead of just being a spectator. I felt the thrill and excitement of racing from then on. I think that’s what started my love for the sport.”
Now 32-years-old, Jaime took three decades to finally go racing.
Preparations began late last year when he joined the Formula V1 finale as a test. Admittedly, he was only a ‘grid filler’ at the time and used the exercise simply to gain experience. Since then, a lot of time on the track and the gym was involved leading up to his race debut. It also took the effort from the entire Ramirez clan to make it happen.
“Before I decided to race, it was always my cousin Stefan who drove for our team, Scuderia Ramirez de Arellano (SRA). I was in team during his races supporting him from the pit lane. But this year I was able to raise enough financial support to pursue my racing career with Stefan and my dad, Louie, pushing me to do it,” he shared.
It was all hands on deck when Jaime took to the grid last March at the Clark International Speedway (CIS). His cousin Stefan served as Team Manager, dad Louis was his Driver Coach, stepbrother Matt Romualdez took care of his photos, while his wife (and boss) Kimberly oversaw Finance. As for everyone else in the Ramirez family, they were on all out support cheering Jaime on.
Driving the 499P-inspired red-and-yellow #06 ENsport entry, Jaime was part of an 8-car grid and went on to finish in a best 6th place finish that weekend. It was a respectable result for a rookie, especially one with zero racing experience.
“I was nervous and pressured to perform even though everyone was telling me to just enjoy,” confessed Jaime. “I also had technical issues with my car, so I think I could’ve performed better.”
It’s been a while since we last saw the Ramirez name race on track and to be honest, it puts a smile to our face to see Jaime keep the family heritage alive. Thankfully, this is not simply a one-off outing as he’s committed a full season in Formula V1 and fingers crossed, Jaime will have enough support to keep his motorsport career going for at least a few more years.
Jaime Ramirez is supported by Scuderia Ramirez de Arellano, Gerrine O San Diego, Welding Industries of the Philippines, ENsport Motors Inc., Ravenol Philippines, Asia Pacific Marine Industries Inc., Aguila Auto Glass, and Rota Wheels.
[Photos by Matt Romualdez Photography]
