Mangulabnan closes in on Superbikes title

MANILA, Philippines – Marvin Mangulabnan swept the pre-final and final races of the Pirelli Superbikes Series’ fifth leg to bolster his bid for the overall crown at the Clark International Speedway in Pampanga recently.

The BMW Racing Team spearhead actually battled back from fourth in the pre-final race and wrested the top spot in the fourth leg on his way to victory, nipping TJ Alberto by 1.397 seconds.

The win hiked his total to 207 points and closer to the coveted Pirelli Superbikes Rider of the Year plum and the Superbikes Expert crown. He needs just a sixth place finish in both races in the final round to secure the win in the event serving as part of the Eneos Philippine Motorsports Championship season sanctioned by the Superbikes Racing Association (SBRA).

Defending champion Raniel Resuello of RGUTZ-Wheeltek Racing team checked in third while Troy Alberto and Dashi Watanabe of Kawasaki took the next two places in the event sponsored by Pirelli and Eneos with media partners Inside Racing Magazine, Torque Magazine, Motorcycle World Magazine, Motorsiklo Xklusibo @ DZME 1530, Ride and Drive Philippines, Motorsiklo News Magazine and BMW Motorad as official safety car.