Tight Eneos battle seen at BRC

MANILA, Philippines - Action in the Eneos Philippine Motorsports Championship heats up this Sunday when the fifth and sixth legs of the Pirelli Superbikes, the FDR Philippine Scooter and the FDR Underbone King are held at the Batangas Racing Circuit.

Expect the frontrunners to go all out for victories to firm up their respective title bids, led by defending Superbikes champion Marvin Mangulabnan of BMW Motorad Racing Team, reigning Underbone King Masato Fernando of Spec-V and Scooter points leader Gian Carlo Mauricio of JVT Racing.

Victories will likewise boost their chances to gain automatic nomination for the coveted 2018 Golden Wheel Driver of the Year Award.

Mangulabnan guns for his third win even as he seeks to rebound from a third place finish behind Team Ducati Philippines’ TJ and Troy Alberto in the last race of the 2017 Pirelli Superbikes sanctioned by the Superbikes Racing Association (SBRA).

He leads the title race with 178 points with Troy and TJ Alberto with 163 and 142 points, respectively, in the event sponsored by Pirelli and Eneos with media parthers Inside Racing Magazine, Torque Magazine, Motorcycle World Magazine, Motorsiklo Xklusibo @ DZME 1530, Driven 2 Ride Philippines, and Motorsiklo News Magazine.

Former champions Raniel Resuello of RGUTZ-Wheeltek Racing Team and Dashi Watanabe of Kawasaki Racing Team also shoot for the win to stay in the title hunt.

Mauricio, on the other hand, is all primed up for both the Underbone and Scooter overall plums after sweeping the titles for the second time this season in the 2017 FDR Philippine Scooter and the FDR Underbone King series sponsored by FDR and sanctioned by the Unified Sports and Racing Association (USRA).

He has pooled 81 and 97 points to pace the two events with Nino Fabian toting 78 points in the Underbone and Scooter title contender McKinley Kyle Paz assembling 80 points.

Masato Fernando also shoots for an all-important sweep of the Underbone and Scooter titles in an attempt to match Mauricio’s feat and stay in the race for the overall plums in the final leg. 

Troy Alberto is also seeking his fifth straight win in the Superbikes Intermediate class against Jericho Arnaiz and JC Villanueva, who is also out to preserve his lead in the Superbikes Novice class against Ian Mortimer.

Comebacking Superbikes legend and 10-time champion Jolet Jao, meanwhile, seeks a third win in the Superbikes Masters division.