Ducati Philippines inches their way closer towards clinching the 2023 titles in the Pirelli Cup after another strong performance during the penultimate round of the year. All clad in red, the Ducatisti raced their hearts out last September 2/3 at the Batangas Racing Circuit (BRC) to secure even more wins and podiums for the Italian marque.
Keeping An Eye On The Super A Prize
A big highlight from the weekend was Jan Timbol, Justin Guce, and Tofu Guzman as they raced closer to Super A points leader Clyde Relativo who sits atop of the standings. The trio notched the best times during Qualifying that resulted an all-red front row starting grid.
Jan controlled the 7-lap race on Sunday morning with a battle brewing behind him. His teammate Justin almost stalled at the start and dropped from pole down to P7, but made a quick recovery as he climbed back up to P3 right before Turn 1. Justin then continued to push his Ducati Panigale V4 hard to catch up to his nearest rival. “I did my best to keep the pressure on Clyde who was in P2 at the time before he crashed going into the chicane,” he shared.
He later caught up to Jan with the pair crossing the finish line split by only 0.207 secs. Tofu ended in an impressive 3rd to complete a Ducati 1-2-3 finish in Super A allowing them to close the points gap.
It was almost an all-Ducati podium during the afternoon race yet again. Justin was on attack mode and almost made the holeshot at the start of Race 2. Although he led for most of the race and tried to breakaway from the back, fatigue later set in that robbed him of a win. “I experienced a massive arm pump making it hard for me to feel the brakes and the throttle properly as I was overtaken by Clyde on the last lap,” he recalls.
Still, it was a successful points haul for Justin with a 2nd place finish with Jan and Tofu following suit in 3rd and 4th, respectively.
The strong weekend for Ducati places Jan Timbol 2nd in the championship and only 10 points behind the leader. Justin Guce is only another 9 points away in 3rd , while Tofu Guzman is a distant 4th as he only rejoined halfway through the season.
Maintaining The Class Lead
Further down the field Alvin Pullon, Ric Cruz, and Jade Regalario were able to maintain their points lead in their respective categories with yet another flawless performance.
Alvin was unchallenged in the Heavyweight B Class (HWB) as he rode to victory in both races. Scoring full points on the #7 Ducati Panigale V4, his lead now grows to 32 points in HWB. Meanwhile, Ric Cruz’s pair of race wins has mathematically secured him the Naked Class title with 1 round to spare. His #124 Streetfighter V4 lead fellow Naked Class rider Pong Lacson who sits 2nd in the standings with his Ducati Hypermotard RVE.
Adding to Ducati Philippines’ trophy haul was Jade Regalario. The Rookie Class rider has practically won every single race he has finished with his Panigale V4 and now comfortably leads in his category.
As the Ducatisti furthered their championship berth, 1 more round separates them from officially fulfilling their dream. The season finale of the Pirelli Cup will be on October 15/16 at the Clark International Speedway (CIS) as the red-clad riders prepare to pull all the stops possible in the final round of 2023.
