Access Plus Racing-Okada Manila adds to win tally in PSBK opening weekend

By motoph admin on June 25, 2021

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Coming off an ultra-successful opening event, Access Plus Racing-Okada Manila maintained their dominant form into the second round of the Philippine Superbike Championship (PSBK) held the very next day. Timothy Joseph “TJ” Alberto enjoyed a thrilling on-track battle to deliver yet another race win at the Clark International Speedway (CIS), while his father Toti was uncontested to add to his tally of class wins.

TJ was again ahead of the field in the Expert Class picking up right where he left off on Saturday. Race 1 on Sunday morning saw another brilliant performance from the young rider and his Ducati Panigale V4R. He maintained control of the 10-lap race and held a comfortable lead to cross the finish line and win with an 8.237 secs advantage.

The elder Alberto had a trouble-free run and was right behind fellow Ducati rider BJ Ang towards the end of the race. Toti would take the chequered flag with another Masters Class win and 0.271 secs behind Ang in the Intermediate Class to finish 8th overall.

Things got more exciting in the afternoon’s Race 2 as he faced stiff competition from the other Expert Class riders. TJ did well to soak up the pressure and keep the lead until a last corner lunge from Marvin Mangulabnan had both riders dash to the finish line with TJ missing out on a win by a mere 0.032 secs.

In contrast, Toti was on his own in the Masters Class after his rival failed to make it to the start. He took a cautious approach to ensure his #21 Ducati Panigale V4R safely made it to the finish and take another class win.

There’s going to be a month-long break until the Philippine Superbike Championship (PSBK) on August 7 and 8 for Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2021 season.

TJ Alberto: “It came down to the wire on Race 2 and we missed out on 1st place by 0.032 seconds. I’m still extremely content with the weekend as I didn’t expect to be able to take this much points home for the team. Everyone at Access Plus Racing-Okada Manila did a really great job in setting up the bike this weekend and they really gave me the tools in order to win. Thanks so much for all the support from our sponsors. We already have some ideas on how we can improve even further for the next races!”

Toti Alberto: “We got more than we wanted points-wise as TJ got three wins and one 2nd place finish. This was a good test for us and we now know what to work on before the next race. It’s just unfortunate that the once hotly-contested Masters Class is down to just me and another entry this year. Still I enjoyed my time on track and placed as high as 7th overall ahead of younger riders in PSBK. Access Plus Racing is also happy that our Ducati riders did well this weekend with BJ Ang in the Intermediate Class, RG Romero in the Novice Class, and Jake Gomez in the Rookie Class all scoring wins.

Access Plus Racing-Okada Manila is sponsored by Okada Manila, Essenza, Macbeth, Öhlins Philippines, AELLA, Lv8, Standard Insurance, and Ducati Philippines.