Santos-Daquigan regains winning ways

MANILA, Philippines — Team Sharp Philippines/Honda Philippines Inc.’s Alfonsi Rei Santos-Daquigan regained his winning ways as he emerged triumphant in the SuperSports 200 division of the Moto IR Championship at the Tarlac Circuit Hill recently.

Using his wealth of experience racing overseas, Santos-Daquigan unleashed a dominant run in the SuperSports 200 as he took the pole and never let go, en route to a .03-second winning gap against racing brothers EJ Sobretodo and Joshua Sobretodo of Vman Racing.

“I think, my training in HRS (Honda Racing School in Suzuka, Japan) and races  abroad like the ATC and ARRC really helped me a lot,” said Santos-Daquigan. “ I’ve learned a lot with that, and how I’ve done it over the last race is much better than what I used to do with my past races.”

The victory was significant for Santos-Daquigan as it ended a two-year winning drought in local races.

“This award means a lot to me because I haven’t won in our local races for the last two years and it feels good to be back on top step of the podium,” said Santos-Daquigan, whose father Dannie, a former racer, is the twin brother of Dexter, a multi-titled Classic Aspirated Cup Series champion.

Backed by Sharp Philippines, Honda Philippines, Don’t Blame the Kids, National Motorcycle Sports and Safety Association and Inside Racing, Santos-Daquigan also emerged runner-up in the SuperSportbike Sprint Race and third place in the SuperSportBike Main Race, indicating that the multi-titled young racer may have finally turned the corner as far as dominating his local races are concerned.