Although they were winless during their last visit to the Batangas Racing Circuit (BRC), Access Plus Racing was able to consistently land on the podium at the penultimate round of the Philippine Superbike Championship (PSBK). This would allow both Timothy Joseph “TJ” Alberto and Lawrence Macalinao to keep their lead in the 2023 points standings ahead of the season finale in October.
TJ set a respectable 1:34.624 lap during Qualifying that would put him on the front row in P3. Meanwhile, Lawrence managed to put in a clean lap that would see him start from P5 on the grid.
With the championship on the line, TJ immediately went for the holeshot at the start of Race 1 and took an early lead. But this was short-lived as he immediately came under attack from his title rivals. The #77 Ducati rider, Marvin Mangulabnan on the Aprilla, and Dashi Watanabe on the Kawasaki were then nose-to-tail throughout the 11-lap race with TJ taking 2nd place as the chequered flag dropped.
His teammate, on the other hand, was also hard at work in the Expert Class. Lawrence hounded his closest rival Rizaldy Canare in an attempt to take the class lead all the way to the finish and missed on a class win by a mere 0.213 secs.
Race 2 in the afternoon saw a repeat with the Top 3 fighting intensely for position. TJ managed to hold onto the lead this time and controlled the race over the next few laps. That was until Mangulabnan made a daring lunge at the hairpin causing TJ to lose momentum. To make matters worse, he got held up behind Watanabe and would take him several laps to get past. By that time Mangulabnan would have already opened up a gap with TJ settling for 2nd while setting the fastest lap of the race.
Lawrence also had the 2023 title in his sights. But instead of taking risks, he opted for the safer route and trailed behind Canare to secure 2nd place and points towards the championship.
With their pair of 2nd place finishes, TJ and Lawrence are able to maintain their Pro and Expert Class lead in the standings. This leaves the title fight in the 2023 Philippine Superbike Championship (PSBK) wide open as it heads to the season finale on October 15 and 16 at the Clark International Speedway (CIS).
TJ Alberto, #77: “Happy to have finished both races in 2nd. The win escaped us in both races today, but we’re happy to show good pace and the fastest lap in Race 2. The target is still to win the championship and what’s important is that we keep the points lead heading to Clark.”
Lawrence Macalinao, #26: “It was a tough weekend and honestly I expected a little bit more. I struggled to overtake and thought that if we had a good start we would be able to secure at least a victory, but I’m pleased that we’re still leading in the points. We’ll prepare even harder for the next race in Clark and we bring the fight ’til the last round for the championship!”
Toti Alberto, Team Principal: “Really proud of our boys today. Both TJ and Lawrence rode well, kept safe, and secured points to keep their lead in the championship. It was a good opportunity for them to enhance their racecraft as they had good on track battles. This excites us even more for the title showdown in Clark next month.”
Access Plus Racing is sponsored by Ducati Philippines, Angkas, Shell Advance Motorcycle Oils, ArmyNavy Burger + Burrito, Frontrow, Makati Diamond Residences, Katinko Oil and Ointment, Macbeth, Aella, LV8 Elevate, Extreme Components, STM, and Öhlins Racing.
