November 2025, Biliran Island, Eastern Visayas. In 53 hours and 20 minutes of nonstop racing through 300 kms of tropical jungle, steep ridges, rugged coastlines, and unpredictable rivers, Team Dirt made history: it became the first Filipino team to win an ARWS Asian Championship. A victory at La Routa Adventure Race, achieved on their home turf against international teams seasoned on the world circuit, is worth far more than just a qualification for their first world championship.
Dirt’s story is, above all, a team that started from almost nothing. Based in Tacloban City in Eastern Visayas, the team set out to demonstrate what a 100% Filipino team can accomplish when it has support. And they did just that! Erika Viojan, captain of the quartet, leads her three teammates with the authority of someone who grew up in an environment where endurance isn’t just a sport, but a way of life. Nick Aguilos, the navigator, is also an experienced climber and photographer, a versatile team member capable of reading the field in multiple ways and navigating through the complexities of a jungle course. Gil Penero Junior and Hienrick Velasco round out this close-knit team, forged through local competitions. Stifling heat, swollen rivers, steep mountains, and trails swallowed up by vegetation – these are all challenges that, over the years, have become their natural playground.
What sets Dirt apart is that they won without the backing of teams accustomed to major circuits. No corporate sponsors, no global track record – just four athletes who know each other inside and out and who have learned to turn resourcefulness into strategy. In Corsica, they’ll encounter a radically different field: dry, steep, and rocky. But those who knew how to navigate the Philippines jungle with a compass aren’t coming to Corsica just to get lost.