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2014 PIRELLI Philippine Superbike Championship - Under The Raging Rain

Motodeal

During the morning’s qualifying session, Team Ducati’s Rainiel Resuello took pole at a blistering 2:09.474, ahead of second-place qualifier and defending champion Dashi Watanabe of Team Aprilia-Grandstar, reminding him that even with his 16pt lead; it ain’t over til it’s over. Sprinting third fastest was Intermediate Class racer Jussi Hoika.

As the 10-lap main race in the afternoon witnessed its final green flag for this year, the tension went so palpable, that even Mother Nature could not decide where to land her rain water, as the east part of the track was raining, while the west side remained dry. From the get-go, Resuello and Watanabe began to increase their distance from the rest of the pack, prompting an intense duel. Resuello fought hard to defend the 1st spot, but Watanabe saw through his defences and managed to grab hold of the lead, just as the chequered flag flew for the final time. This victory marked Watanabe’s fifth win of the season, and ultimately his second time in a row to win the Championship title with Team Aprilia-Grandstar. Throwback 2013, anyone?

Exhibiting an awesome fighting spirit until the very end, Resuello managed to still clock in 0.549 behind Watanabe, while taking the third podium position was Watanabe’s teammate Marvin Mangulabnan.

Down in the Intermediate Class, things went just as edgy, as points leader Rizaldy Canare suffered a crash, but was able to continue racing, and despite him finishing at the back-end, he was still able to bag the Intermediate Class Championship title, just two points ahead of Jussi Hoika.

All was not lost for Soyanco though, as he still was able to become this year’s Novice Class Champ.

Finally in the Novice Class, the Full Throttle Final Fight Fever eventually caught on, as Tracy Soyanco did all what’s best to finish 1st, but only managed 3rd as the chequered flag waved. Ahead of him was 1st placer Laurence Macalinao and 2nd placer Jericho Arnaiz. All was not lost for Soyanco though, as he still was able to become this year’s Novice Class Champ.

In the FDR Underbone King Championship, things were equally as exciting, as Herbert Lopez and John Emerson Inguito of the 150cc Open Class started their final race of the year, tied at 109pts each. It was a close battle throughout the 10-lap race, and as they crossed the line in 2nd and 3rd place, only a 0.053-second margin separated Inguito from Lopez. Meanwhile, Team NHK-Racewell’s Tracy Soyanco took 1st place.

Doing the Maths, the tie was finally broken, as this allowed Inguito to finally clinch this year’s title with just two points ahead of Lopez’ 129pts. Taking 3rd overall was Nino Fabian, ending this year’s FDR Underbone King Championship Series 150cc Open Class with 98 points.

Having already bagged the 115cc Open Class title during the series’ fifth round in Batangas, it was all just an ice-cream cherry-topper for Vrei Ar Suba, as he crossed the line in 2nd place, while an astounding 92pts lead made Aldeine Valencia this year’s 115cc Novice Class Champ.

Mother Nature finally went furious as she decided to give it everything she got for the day in the FDR Philippine Scooter Racing Championship

Lastly, as the day fades away, Mother Nature finally went furious as she decided to give it everything she got for the day in the FDR Philippine Scooter Racing Championship, where her heavy rain proved to be an enormously dangerous challenge. But, it was a challenged that was bravely faced and overcame, as the racing scooteristas made it all in one piece.

Breaking away from the five-way point battle was Masato Fernando, winning the 180cc AT Scooter Class race for the fourth consecutive time, winning the championship title in the process. Meanwhile, only a single point separated Paul Mark Doblada ahead of Joshua Reuben Tan’s 111pts final score.

In the 130cc AT Scooter Class, the day ended with a three-way tie between McKinley Kyle Paz, Robert Espiritu, and Justinne Tolentino. All three riders taking 110pts each in the final standing. The 160cc AT Scooter Class saw Aljon Valencia already relishing the championship bliss during the previous round. He finished the final round with 144pts.

As for the support races, Team NHK-Racewell's Ralph Kenneth Torres and Herbert Lopez took 1st and 3rd in the MotoIR, respectively, with Paul Mark Doblada in 2nd. Gio Adriano won the MotoIR2 race. Other race winners in the weekend included Gino Tayag in the MTRT Club Race, McKinley Kyle Paz in the MTRT Cup 115cc Scooter Class and Honda Dash Cup, and EJ Sobretodo in the Honda Beat Cup.

It was indeed an eventful year for the PIRELLI Philippine Superbike Championship. Lots of countless memorable motorcycle racing battle have been fought, lost, and won> and at the end, everyone was left with great experiences, all in the hopes of entering the 2015 season with optimism and camaraderie in mind.

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