MANILA, Philippines - Marvin Mangulabnan bucked a poor start with a strong finish, upending Dashi Watanabe to clinch his first Superbikes trophy in the fourth leg of the Pirelli Superbikes Series at the Clark International Speedway in Pampanga recently.
Mangulabnan battled back from third place with a strong fightback, slipping past the young Alberto brothers – TJ and Troy – to secure the top spot in the third lap. He held sway the rest of the way to rule both the pre-final and final races.
With the fastest laptime of 1:51.894, Mangulabnan completed the nine-lap race in 18 minutes and 48.601 seconds, three seconds ahead of Watanabe of Kawasaki, to secure the Superbikes Open and Expert titles in the event which served as part of the Eneos Philippine Motorsports Championship season sanctioned by the Superbikes Racing Association and sponsored by Pirelli and Eneos.
Troy Alberto nipped older brother TJ for the Superbikes Intermediate crown and went on to capture the Superbikes Novice title over Jericho Arnaiz and Ralph Torres in the event backed by 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.
With Rep. Ronald Singson of Partas-BMW Racing Team bowing out to injury, John Defensor made it a 1-2-3 finish for Team Ducati Philippines along with Jay Carrion and Charles Nolasco.