WRC 2024 - Rally Chile Bio Bío

The 2024 World Rally Championship continues with the Rally Chile Bio Bio. As September ends, the rally is heating up as drivers fight through Latin America's worsts.

Screengrab from WRC

As Esapekka Lappi showcased his promising results in the shakedown, the opening stages saw an upper hand for Elfyn Evans following a COC decision for the rally's opening stages. However, in the Saturday stages, his domination got lost in the fog, allowing Kalle Rovanpera to snatch his lead and soldier on to the end of this rally event.

Kalle Rovanpera won the Rally Chile Bio Bio, beating out Evans by 23.4 seconds. Hyundai driver Ott Tanak finished third.

After Chile, Thierry Neuville remains in the lead with 192 points. Ott Tanak is in 2nd with 158 points and Sebastien Ogier is in 3rd with 154 points.

The next event is the Central European Rally which stretches across Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic, from October 17 to 20, 2024.

DTM 2024: Red Bull Ring

With September finally finished, the DTM 2024 season continues at the Red Bull Ring, home of the Austrian Grand Prix of Formula 1. Although the GT3 machines don't deliver the same intensity as the Formula 1 racers that raced there, they still pack the action and the drama fans expect as DTM's 40th-anniversary celebration nears its climax.

Screengrab from DTM

In the first part, SSR Performance's Mirko Bortolotti fended Winward's Maro Engel for the win. At the same time, Arjun Maini, an Indian driver representing Mercedes-AMG Team HRT, completed the podium with his third-place finish. The same goes for the final part of DTM's Spielberg campaign, where Schubert Motorsport's Rene Rast won ahead of Manthey EMA's Thomas Preinning.

DTM's 40th-anniversary celebration is coming to an end. The season finale will be held at Hockenheimring from October 17 to 20, 2024. Mirko Bortolotti currently leads the driver standings. Will he be crowned champion? Don't miss it!

Gran Turismo World Series 2024 - Tokyo

Tokyo, Japan is the penultimate venue of the Gran Turismo World Series 2024. Although this is basically the home turf of the Gran Turismo series as well as its hometown GT7 players taking part in the Manufacturers Cup and Nations Cup, this is no homecoming for them as there's a lot of action that deserves to be done before the big finale.

Screengrab from Gran Turismo

Beginning with the Manufacturers Cup, Lexus driver K. Kawakami is the solid winner of this round while T. Miyazono, the Subaru driver who is the favorite according to observers, settles for second place and S. Suzuki of BMW finished 3rd.

In the Nations Cup, meanwhile, K. Drumont from France is the winner while Spain's J. Serrano fended Japan's T. Miyazono off for his 2nd Place finish.

The Gran Turismo World Series 2024 will conclude in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, this December 6-8, 2024. Who will be crowned the champions? What surprises await for GT7 players? Don't miss it!

Let's Do The News! (September 28, 2024)

      

Your daily round-up of today's news...

- The fourth multilateral maritime cooperative activity involving the AFP and defense forces from Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States has kicked off.

- Tropical Depression Julian intensified into a tropical storm while slowly moving south-southwest in the Philippine ocean.

- The suspension of 141 officials and employees of the National Food Authority (NFA) linked to the alleged anomalous sale of the government's rice buffer stocks to favored private traders has been lifted by the Office of the Ombudsman.

- The PBBM administration declared Misamis Occidental insurgency-free.

- The Israeli military says it killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other commanders in a series of overnight strikes in Beirut. Thousands displaced over Beirut's streets after Israeli strikes target Hezbollah leader Nasrallah.

- Michael Andretti is reportedly planning to relinquish his shares in the Andretti Global Company. If so, he is no longer the owner of the organization, although he still wishes to remain involved in another capacity.

- McLaren will unveil its newest hypercar called the W1 this October 6, 2024.

- The World Anti-Doping Agency has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against an independent tribunal's decision in August to clear world No.1 Jannik Sinner of wrongdoing after he failed drug tests.

- Dame Maggie Smith, who starred in Harry Potter movies and Downton Abbey TV series, passed away at the age of 89.

TTFN.

THE WILD ROBOT

One of the most memorable children's books by Peter Brown comes to life from the folks who gave you Shrek, Madagascar, and Kung Fu Panda. Time to discover what it means to be...wild.

THE WILD ROBOT

THE WILD ROBOT, a movie adaptation of a bestselling book by Peter Brown, is the latest masterpiece from DreamWorks Animation. It features an all-star ensemble who lend their voices to this animated movie such as Lupita Nyong'o, The Mandalorian actor Pedro Pascal, Bill Nighy, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice's Catherine O'Hara, Kit Connor, and Stephanie Hsu.

This movie centers on the life of a robot called ROZZUM 7134, "Roz" for short, who got stranded on a mysterious island. Feared by its inhabitants, Roz began caring for a newly hatched gosling named Brightbill. She later joined forces with Fink, a calm but questionable fox with a rather selfish attitude to help nurture the gosling and mature. Struggling about her true purpose, Roz discovers the meaning of home, family, and freedom within the wilderness.

Another calm and mindful robot movie since WALL-E, THE WILD ROBOT showcases the true meaning of home, family, and freedom. The bedazzling visuals, music, and sound are easily overshadowed by the storytelling that proves even a steel-bodied mechanical wanderer can embrace its wild side. Contrary to every robot character we know, it CAN experience love.

This is by no means one of the must-watch movies of the Fall Season. With its heartwarming storytelling and stunning visuals, THE WILD ROBOT is as WILD as it gets. Nature calls.

Let's Do The News! (September 27, 2024)

     

Your daily round-up of today's news...

- The killing of former PSCO Board Secretary Wesley Barayuga was detailed at the House Quad Committee hearing. Former PSCO General Manager Royina Garma and NAPOLCOM Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo were identified as behind the crime.

- The Bureau of Corrections announced the release of Jimmy Fortaleza, a witness in the investigation by the PH House of Representatives over the drug war deaths during the Duterte administration.

- Typhoon Julian is last seen 525km east of Itbayat, Batanes, as of 1100 hours Manila Time. PAGASA warns it may become a typhoon by Sunday.

- The camp of former Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo filed a not guilty plea in the case of qualified human trafficking in the Pasig Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 167.

- Hurricane Helen strengthened into a Category Three hurricane and could bring an "unsurvivable" storm surge as it near Florida.

- ICYMI: The world's longest-serving death row inmate, Iwao Hakamada, is acquitted of quadruple murder in Japan retrial.

- Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the military to keep fighting with full force after the US and allies called for a ceasefire on the border with Lebanon.

- Harrods boss Michael Ward apologizes, saying business "failed colleagues" over the Mohamed Al Fayed abuse claims. The police will "fully explore" whether anyone can be pursued for criminal offenses in connection with the Fayed abuse claims.

- ICYMI: The US pushes to ban China and Russia car tech.

- The all-new Ford Expedition will be unveiled this October 3rd.

- The Visa Cash App RB F1 Team replaced Daniel Ricciardo with Liam Lawson immediately.

- Love Live's Nijigasaki High School Idol Club's Tokimeki Roadmap to the Future visual novel is coming to the Nintendo Switch this April 24, 2025.

- Singer-songwriter Sayuri dies at the age of 28.

- SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada arrives on consoles and PC this January 24.

- Actor Kim Woo Seok will enlist as an active-duty soldier in the Army Band on November 4th.

- Your first look at The Last of Us season 2 coming soon to Max.

TTFN.

Honda N-BOX Joy

The third-generation Honda N-BOX range welcomes its newest member; an outdoor-themed variant designed to take on the likes of the Mitsubishi Delica Mini, Daihatsu Tanto FunCross, and the Suzuki Spacia Gear.

2025 Honda N-BOX Joy

2025 Honda N-BOX Joy

This is the first-ever Honda N-BOX Joy, an outdoor-themed variant of the third-generation N-BOX priced at 1,844,700 Yen plus additional costs, which is cheaper than the recent Suzuki Spacia Gear but slightly more costly to own than the Mitsubishi Delica Mini. A fair trade in the market for outdoor-oriented kei minivans.

2025 Honda N-BOX Joy interior

2025 Honda N-BOX Joy interior

Although it's basically a third-generation N-BOX by the looks of it, the Joy features black cladding underneath, a front bumper with holes on the center-right followed by six holes above the front bumper, specially-made Full HED headlamps, taillights from the N-BOX Custom, black side mirrors, and to top it all off, the Joy badge. For an additional extra, customers can have a special package with front fog lamps and a front grille that spells Honda on it.

While the interior works just like the other N-BOX variants, the Joy features Brown-and-Black checkered seat fabric that is surprisingly stain-proof, making cleanup a breeze. Fold the rear seats down, and you will have a Furatto Terrace to relax. It even comes with a floor-under box to store your necessities. With a space of 148cm in length, 117cm in width, and 115cm in height, this outdoor-themed N-BOX means business and leisure at a snail's pace.

Like the rest of the lineup, the N-BOX Joy is powered by a 660cc i-VTEC engine that produces 58PS of power output and 65Nm of torque, and when mated with a CVT, fuel efficiency is around 21.3km/L based on WLTC Mode standards. That's more than the Delica Mini, as expected. Of course, you can exercise your options with the available turbocharged engine and four-wheel drive.

As for safety, the N-BOX Joy comes with Honda Sensing, VSA, emergency stop signal, hill start assist function, and a multi-view camera system, among many others.

The Honda N-BOX Joy is the first Honda N-BOX variant designed for outdoor enthusiasts. It's a kei minivan, which means it's small and light, but it has a lot of room inside. It also has a lot of features that make it perfect for camping and other outdoor activities. The market for outdoor-oriented kei minivans is growing thanks to the arrival of the first-ever Honda N-BOX Joy.

Available Colors: Platinum White Pearl, Crystal Black Pearl, Slate Grey Pearl & Black, Fjord Mist Pearl & Black, Autumn Yellow Pearl & Black, Botanical Green Pearl & Black, and Desert Beige Pearl & Black.

Photo: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.