DEFENDING back-to-back Superbikes champion Dashi Watanabe of Kawasaki braved the heavy downpour and wrested the solo lead in the third leg of the 2015 Pirelli Superbikes Championship Series at the Clark International Speedway recently.
Rain had been Watanabe’s waterloo; his lone setback last season came on a wet track. And he seemed headed for another defeat when Marvin Mangulabnan of BMW Racing Team dictated the tempo in the first four laps.
But Watanabe wrested the top spot from Mangulabnan after passing the first turn of the next lap.
Gaining confidence, he stepped on the gas to pull away and preserve his post the rest of the way to grab the civtory.
His archrival, Ducati franchise rider Raniel Resuello, checked in third, while Toti Alberto of Team Ducati Philippines and Anthony Roman of KTM Philippines Team claimed fourth and fifth places respectively.
Even so, the triumph only moved Watanabe to third place overall with 52 points. Resuello kept hold of solo leadership with 67 points with Mangulabnan fast catching up with 64.