Access Plus Racing strengthened its grip on the 2025 Philippine Superbike Championship (PSBK) with another commanding performance as the series returned to Clark International Speedway (CIS) for Round 4. Despite narrowly missing out on pole, the team bounced back with a pair of podium finishes—including a dominant 1-2 result on Sunday afternoon.
Coming into the weekend with high expectations, both Timothy Joseph “TJ” Alberto and his younger brother Troy lined up on the front row of the grid alongside closest rival Marvin Mangulabnan for Race 1. A quick getaway saw TJ out-drag the Aprilia rider into Turn 1 to take the early lead, while Troy slotted into P2 just a corner later. The Access Plus Racing duo briefly held a 1-2 formation at the front until Troy became locked in a tight battle with Mangulabnan—allowing TJ to pull away.
Mangulabnan forced his way past Troy on Lap 2 and began to reel in TJ. The gap between the title contenders steadily narrowed, but TJ maintained his composure and never relinquished the top spot. By the chequered flag, he had rebuilt the margin to 2.258 secs to take another commanding win—setting a new CIS race lap record in the process with a blistering 1:48.434 aboard the #77 Ducati Panigale V4. Troy followed closely in 3rd, securing another solid haul of points for the team.
Race 2 later that afternoon saw TJ start from pole. A lightning launch allowed him to lead the field into Turn 1, with Troy once again getting a strong getaway to slot into P2. He soon found himself in another tense battle with Mangulabnan, with the two running nose-to-tail for several laps until the Aprilia rider slowed down with a technical issue with four laps to go.
Out front, TJ remained untouchable. He controlled the pace from the start and extended his advantage to nearly 15 secs by the chequered flag. Behind him, Troy cruised to 2nd place—securing a dominant 1-2 result for Access Plus Racing and Ducati Philippines.
With this double podium showing, TJ now has seven wins out of eight races and extends his championship lead to 43 points. Troy, meanwhile, maintains his strong position in 3rd overall and keeps the pressure on Mangulabnan in the standings.
The PSBK season resumes at the Batangas Racing Circuit (BRC) for Round 5 on September 6/7.
TJ Alberto, #77: “It was a great weekend overall. We had two strong races, shared the podium with my brother Troy, scored a 1-2 finish for Access Plus Racing, and set a new track record that was even quicker than the pole time in Qualifying. Things are looking good for our championship fight as we pass the halfway mark of the season. But we need to keep pushing for more wins with three rounds still to go. I’m now looking forward to returning to BRC and seeing if we can improve on our 2nd place result from the last time we raced there.”
Troy Alberto, #69: “I’m happy with how the weekend went, but I’m still not fully satisfied. I tried to put up a strong fight in both races and was a bit fortunate to get 2nd in Race 2. I know I still need to find more speed if I want to truly challenge the top two. On the positive side, I didn’t lose any points in the battle for 2nd in the championship, and my goal is to close the gap when we return to BRC.”
Toti Alberto, Team Principal: “Our team orders were to play it safe this weekend—no need to take unnecessary risks. But TJ was absolutely flying and even set a race lap time faster than the pole lap in Qualifying. I’m also very happy we got Troy more comfortable on the bike and managed to bring home a 1-2 finish.”
Ducati Philippines, Shell Advance, Brembo, Öhlins Racing, Sprint Filter, Macbeth, DID Chains, Aella, Motoworld, Capit Perfomrance, LV8 – Elevate, Extreme Components, and Rudy Project.
