Jose Aros: the Chilean who by mistake discovered Caminos del Inca and now seeks to be the first to win it

A lucky mistake connected him with the legendary career of Inca roads. Jose Aros arrived in Peru at the age of 18 in 2011 due to the work of his parents and a journalistic publication that caught his attention: Jorge Martínez will run Caminos del Inca. “It couldn’t be that Martínez competes in Peru”, he told himself. “I have to go see him,” he said. It is that, of course, he thought it was the ‘Wonder Boy’, the Chilean driver who competes in the World Rally who came to the Inca test, but it was the Peruvian Martínez, curiously today leader of Caminos del Inca 2022.

“I stopped at the ‘S’, passing La Chutana, on the Panamericana Sur. It seemed incredible to me to have an open road to put all the gas on it and I was left with the bug of ever running it “, he tells us. And so she waited for sleep.

A lover of irons by family tradition, he drove his first car at the age of 9, his father’s competition car. So he was growing as a pilot. But when he came to Peru he made the contacts to be able to fulfill his desire.

And it happened in 2016 -he mistakenly remembers that it was in 2017-, when together with Luis Surco he competed in his first Caminos del Inca in the S2000 category. “I fell in love with the race the first time. It is an atypical race, it does not exist in another part of the world. It is a difficult race, with a lot of strategy, a lot of teamwork and that motivates me”tells us the southerner, who at that time was studying to be a commercial pilot.

But Jose Aros wants to go for more. “I was the first Chilean to run it and now I want to be the first Chilean to win it,” he tells us. For this Caminos del Inca 2022 he runs alongside Willy Sáenz in the ST category and after two stages they are in third place in the division.

“We are not doing so bad. We brought the complete car, so we are going forward, that is why we are here”tells us motivated to achieve a good result in Caminos del Inca.

In the traditional test, there have been foreign winners in the general classification, such as the European duo formed by Tony Fall (ENG) and Gunnar Palm (SUE), or the Bolivians Dieter Hibner and Alfredo Méndez / José Camacho and Juan Calizaya, and in recent editions the co-drivers José María Rodríguez (ARG – 2013) and Augusto Larrea (ECU – 2018), while at the category level there have been other cases, but not with a Chilean flag driver.

What Jose Aros is looking for is to consolidate himself in his category, the Super Turismo, and then think of bigger things. He runs alongside Willy Sáenz in the various national competitions of the ACP, National Rally and even in tests in La Chutana. But he does not stop living in Chile, where these days his brother is the one who attends to the company he owns.

“I leave everything for a month with my brother. It is quite a long time that you are out, both with the preparation of the car and the competition”he tells us, and he also suffers from the height of the Peruvian Andes. “In the beginning it’s hard to get used to. It’s a total headache, but with the roadmap [hacer el recorrido previo] you get used to it Then, in the race, on top of the car you forget everything”refers.

What makes José happiest is the affection he has received from people beyond the Lone Star flag that is displayed on the car. “Everyone cheers for you, kids ask for autographs, a photo. They are happy. It is a race with a lot of history, a lot of content that unites the entire country”, he tells us. And one to the countries of the continent as well, because there have been competitors from Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, among others.

“At the beginning I thought about the rivalry, that ‘I’m going to arrive and they’re going to hate me’, but I’m grateful that all the people treat me in the best way. For everyone I am just Chilean, and the truth is, I like it”, he finishes telling us. And of course, imitations of the Chilean dejo are heard in the team, “but always in a good mood, with good energy,” he clarifies.

José Aros was the first Chilean to compete in Inca roads, and now battle to be the first to celebrate on a podium as a winner. There are still four stages ahead that will demand it to the maximum. He has come to Peru for that, to enjoy and fight for a place like a winner.

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