Mangulabnan zeroes in on S’bikes crown

MARVIN Mangulabnan rode with awe-inspiring confidence and swept the Pre-Final and Final races in the fifth leg of the 2016 Pirelli Superbikes Series at Clark International Speedway recently.

The twin victories moved Mangulabnan, the BMW Racing Team spearhead, closer to the Superbikes Rider of the Year plum with 207 points, 21 clear of TJ Alberto, the runner-up in both races, going into the last leg of the series.

He will clinch the plum with a sixth-place finish in the concluding stage.

Mangulabnan rallied from fourth spot in the Pre-Final race, took command in the fourth lap, and won by 1.397 seconds over Alberto.

In the dramatic nine-lap Final race, Mangulabnan passed Alberto with a decisive maneuver in the fifth lap to post a winning time of 15 minutes and 49.998 seconds, 3.021 seconds ahead of the runner-up.

Alberto of Team Ducati Philippines was followed home in the Final race by younger brother Troy Alberto, who rose to fourth overall with 157 points.

Dashi Watanabe finished fifth in both races but kept third overall with 177 points.

Defending champion Raniel Resuello of RGutz-Wheeltek Racing was mired in sixth overall with 128, two behind the fifth-running Paul Mark Doblada.

TJ Alberto settled for the Superbikes Intermediate title over Troy and Jericho Arnaiz while Troy ruled the Superbikes Novice race. Steve Silva, Contributor