Diego Loyzaga on his newfound love for racing
Up and coming young actor, Diego Loyzaga, has been making some noise and not in the typical showbiz style, but with revving engines and squealing tires.
The 22-year-old son of Teresa Loyzaga was born in the Philippines but lived in Australia for a while. Now, he is back and is known for starring in drama series like Forevermore, Mirabella, and Mara Clara. Lately however, he’s been pursuing more high octane activities as one of the celebrity racers in the Toyota Vios Cup Season 5, and as a competitor in History Channel’s Celebrity Car Wars.
Diego dropped by Manila Bulletin to promote his new show, and so, we took the opportunity to ask about his newfound love for all things cars.
“There was a lot of interest in the family,” Diego begins. “My brother was a car salesman, that was his job in Australia. We’d always debate on what car was better than the other. I also used to just sit with my friends and talk about cars. We’d wonder what one car was like compared to another car. There was no push to join motorsport. I was the one that searched for it.” “It’s because of Vios Cup that I think celebrity car wars got me,” he shares. “When I taped celebrity car wars, I only did one race in Vios Cup.” “Definitely, being in Vios Cup has helped me in Celebrity Car Wars,” he shares. “One of the other stars, Lydia, she doesn’t even drive manual. She learned on the show. Hans Isaac is an F3 driver. He races for 12 hours straight. There are guys that have more experience than me and there are guys and girls that have less experience than me.” That track experience seems to have paid off for Diego, particularly in one of the challenges. “We got to drive Jeepneys on the circuit. The owners of the jeepneys were there watching. Me and Xian (Lim) were assuring them we’d be careful and went on one lap with them to show them how we’d do it. They were gripping really hard, worried it would flip. Come the race, I did not slow down. I felt the jeep, as I was turning, shifting from 2nd to 3rd, the back of the jeep was sliding out. Thankfully, it didn’t flip. I didn’t come last. I can’t yet say what position I finished in.
With lots of seat time in the racetrack already, Diego hopes this isn’t the last of it yet.
“I hope these open the doors for more car-related things,” he said. Ever since I did Celebrity Car Wars, I thought, if I could do this for the rest of my life, why not?” So what does Diego hope to get into next? “Next step is rally cars. That’s my dream when I was a kid, being in a Subaru WRX or Lancer Evolution.”
There haven’t been any offers yet, but Diego is staying hopeful and is certainly up for more challenges.
For those hoping to pursue a career in racing, Diego has this advice.
“On the racetrack, your number one enemy is yourself. Racing is how many mistakes you don’t make. When you’re in a race, when the guy in front of you makes a mistake, that’s when you pass. So in a race, you have to be very patient.”
Regularly driving himself in between shoots, Diego also thinks it applies perfectly to driving in the city.
“In the street, it’s the same thing. Focus on yourself, play your music, and relax.”
You can catch Diego racing in the final round of the Vios Cup Season 5 soon and on Celebrity Car Wars Season 3, starting Sept. 9 at 9:55pm on the History Channel.