EXCLUSIVE: AAP eyeing revisions to Motorsport Development Program for 2023

Racing isn't just about going fast – you can even use the skills from motorsports to save money on fuel and avoid road crashes.

That's according to the Automobile Association of the Philippines (AAP), the local National Sporting Authority of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of global car-racing events.

The AAP told AutoFun Philippines that it is looking at revising its acclaimed Motorsport Development Program (MSDP) for 2023 to include programs for drivers who may not go into racing.

"We're trying to see how we can make motorsports relevant to using that life skill on the road," said AAP Motorsports Manager and rally champion Ivan Isada in an exclusive interview.

"So not the racing, but the skill itself in terms of being more safe, being more efficient in their driving, especially now with the increase of gas prices," he added.

The MSDP was established in 2015 with a grant from the FIA. It offers nine core modules that cover topics like car control, building a race car, developing the racing mindset and even getting sponsors.

Isada said among the changes that the AAP is looking into for the MSDP curriculum is the addition of special modules that focus on practical driving.

"There's more driving involved that people can enjoy," he said. "That's why we're doing this because we enjoy driving. So we have 'Momentum and Fuel Efficiency' as a special module."

Isada added that these would be on top of the special modules that the MSDP offers on rally driving and gymkhana.

Champion-makers

Isada said the MSDP has contributed greatly to the development of Philippine racing drivers locally and abroad.

"When we started out, we wanted to be able to become national champions, club champions," he said. "And I think there's a lot of drivers there dominating in those categories."

Isada also noted the 2019 win of Cagayan de Oro native Mark Bernales in the Asia Auto Gymkhana Championship in South Korea.

"The impact is really big, especially with us touching the Visayas area and the Mindanao area," he said. "While there had been initial contact before in terms of running there, now it's being sustained, which is what we really want to happen so that motorsports grows in all three islands."

The FIA gave MSDP two additional grants in 2018 and 2022, in recognition of the program's success.

"The FIA has given us the highest rating for impact in their audit in 2018," he said. "Relevance is also one of those criteria that's also one of the highest. For an international body to fund it again and to recognize it, I think it says a lot about MSDP."

What other topics do you think the MSDP should include for non-racers?