Between track days: Rabe doing good job juggling racing, family business
HELMET in hand, Raffy Rabe walks along the pit lane in his racing suit.
Photograph courtesy of Turn One Productions
Raffy Rabe remembers going to races with his father when he was a boy, although he was not particularly pleased to be there. His father’s Nissan Silvia S14 was loud, and the noise irritated him. His father sometimes picked him up from school in the same car, which would eventually become Raffy’s favorite.
NISSAN Silvia S14 owner Raffy Rabe calls the ‘Green Goblin’ his favorite car and is having it built for more power and reliability.
Photograph courtesy of Raffy Rabe
“I grew up not really liking cars and more on just playing video games and basketball,” he said.
His father raced the S14 and his uncle drove a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V, although Raffy said his family had not really expected him to race. His interest began when he learned to drive. As he learned more about cars, he began to appreciate them and wanted to try racing as his father had.
OWNED first by Raffy Rabe’s father, this Nissan Silvia S14 is the car Raffy received in 2017 and restored after it spent about two years unused.
Photograph courtesy of Raffy Rabe
In 2017, his father handed him the S14, which had been sitting for about two years. Getting it running was expensive, but Raffy was delighted to receive a car he considered iconic.
RAFFY Rabe sits beside the S14 that people once recognized as his father’s car and now known as ‘Raffy’s S14.’
Photograph courtesy of Jose Altoveros
“It became my favorite car and it still is my favorite car,” he said.
People initially recognized it as his father’s car, but after several years they began calling it “Raffy’s S14,” also known as the “Green Goblin.” Raffy still owns it and is now having it built for more power and reliability.
HANDED down by his father, Raffy Rabe’s Nissan Silvia S14 remains his favorite car.
Photograph courtesy of Turn One Productions
I got to know Raffy while we worked together on an automotive assignment. He was humble and easy to talk to, and we had a good time working together. He later told me he was spending more time helping run the family hospital.
Jose Rafael III Roa Rabe, who turned 28 on 6 October, works as purchasing manager at SSMC Group of Hospitals. His responsibilities extend to hospital operations, including checking that things are running properly and dealing with problems reported to him.
“In short, whatever my grandmother asks me to do will be part of my job description,” he said.
Raffy graduated with a degree in entrepreneurship from De La Salle University in 2020 and had planned to work elsewhere before joining the family business. The Covid pandemic led him straight into it instead, and he and his uncle later took on larger roles as his grandmother grew older.
Raffy spends most of his week working at the hospital, but makes time for basketball and the gym, while trips to the racetrack come about once a month.
He was 18 when he entered his first Touge Battle in a 2013 Subaru BRZ given to him by his uncle. With the car already prepared for competition, Raffy needed more time on track. He had practiced at City Kart Racing in Makati before entering, and Ez Ligaya and his crew helped him learn as he began competing.
TOUGE Battle gave Raffy Rabe his start in motorsports with a Subaru BRZ given to him by his uncle.
Photograph courtesy of Raffy Rabe
“They accepted an 18-year-old kid that just started racing with open arms,” he said. “Ez Ligaya and his crew helped me out so much and taught me a lot of the things I know now.”
Raffy finished on the podium in his first race and later won class championships in Touge Battle and the FlatOut Race Series, although those victories did not entirely remove his doubts about how far he could go in racing.
In 2019, his friend Luis Gono sent him a poster for the Phoenix Young Drivers’ Program and encouraged him to apply. After several rounds of screening among nearly 300 applicants, Raffy was surprised to be chosen as the program’s top driver.
The program took him into Formula V1, which he credits with making him a better driver. His first podium in the series also convinced him that he belonged there.
FORMULA V1 helps Raffy Rabe improve his driving, while his first podium in the series gives him confidence that he can compete at that level.
Photograph courtesy of Gaijin Automotive
ON track, Raffy Rabe drives his Formula V1 car in the series he credits with making him a better driver.
Photograph courtesy of Turn One Productions
“Before that, it was all me doubting if I really have what it takes to race in the big boy leagues here in the Philippines,” he said.
He now represents Autoplus Sports and Autoholic Racing Paddock Club in a 2025 BMW M2, although his hospital responsibilities require him to adjust his racing schedule. He does not see this as a major change, since school and expenses had already limited his time at the track.
BMW M2 driver Raffy Rabe represents Autoplus Sports and Autoholic Racing Paddock Club while helping run the family hospital.
Photograph courtesy of Raffy Rabe
“Of course I can’t be at the track 24/7, but that’s fine,” he said.
Racing is expensive, which gives Raffy another reason to work harder. Through the sport, he has also met business owners and introduced them to the family’s hospitals and clinics, which specialize in industrial medicine and annual physical examinations.
Raffy and his uncle have taken on larger roles in the family business as his grandmother grows older. “We have to keep the legacy of my grandmother alive,” he said.
Between track days, Raffy helps run the family hospital, making decisions he can and calling his lola when he needs guidance. She can count on her grandson for help, just as he can count on her advice.