INQUIRER Sports

THERE?S STILL NO STOPPING MAICO Buncio as the 20-year-old rider bagged his third straight championship in the 2009 BRC Superbikes Series recently at the Clark International Speedway.

Buncio, who pooled 172 points in the series, dominated early to virtually claim the crown before racing unopposed in the final leg due to the disqualification of closest pursuer Glenn Aguilar.

The lead rider of the Elf Moto Oil-YRS Racing stable, Buncio also claimed the 130cc Open overall title with 218 points. Anthony Roman settled for runner-up honors with 198.

Buncio completed his triple triumph by ruling the 115cc Open over series champion Johnlery Enriquez and Suzuki teammate Paul Mark Doblada.

With his latest feat, Buncio again drew comparisons to 10-time Superbikes champion Jolet Jao.

?To break Jao?s record journey is actually far from my mind for now, but that is possible,? said Buncio, who two years ago emerged as the sport?s youngest champion.

?Our Indonesian engineer [Kaka] was a big help, [he was] a big boost since we are just a private team going head-to-head against organized factory teams.?

Buncio, though, lost the overall Underbone King championship to Filipino-Japanese Masato Fernando due to a spill caused by a busted engine in the pre-final heat.

?You can?t win them all,? said Buncio. ?Hopefully, we?ll do much better in the international scene next season.?