Suzuki searches for new batch of Asian riders to join its class of 2016 who will participate at the Suzuki Asian Challenge (SAC). Team Suzuki Pilipinas started its journey at the Suzuki Philippine Challenge Finals held on March 6th at the Tarlac Recreational Park in San Jose, Tarlac.
The SAC runs in conjunction with the Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) featuring a single-make race on a Suzuki Raider R150. It forms the base of a structured program that spearheads Suzuki’s efforts to groom riders from the Asian region. The collaboration with the ARRC is the result of Suzuki’s intention to also train up more Asian talents who may one day race for Suzuki in the MotoGP. Representatives from Asian nations will compete with each other to find out who will reign in this exciting event. The program commenced in 2015 with 17 riders from nine Asian countries alongside the brand’s big comeback on the racetrack. This year, three delegates join the class from the Philippines forming part of Team Suzuki Pilipinas.
April King Mascardo, the country’s frontrunner to SAC 2015 automatically got the first slot. Suzuki Philippines searched for two more riders to complete Team Suzuki Pilipinas. One rider each from Luzon and Visayas-Mindanao will join him in this developmental journey.
There were fourteen qualifiers (the top 6 from Luzon and top 8 from VisMin) who competed for these slots at the Suzuki Philippine Challenge Finals. These 14 riders are the top performers of the Suzuki Philippine Challenge—an R150 one make race category of the Repsol Road Racing Championship (Luzon) and the Regional Underbone Grand Prix (RUGP) (VisMin).
The winner from Luzon was McKinley Kyle Paz, however, the slot was given to succeeding finisher Eane Jaye Sobretodo due to Paz’s prior commitment with a local racing group. Sobretodo joins returning SAC player Mario Borbon, Jr. and April King Mascardo at SAC races this year.
Team Suzuki Pilipinas displayed a promising performance during the first season of the Suzuki Asian Challenge in 2015. Comprising of Luzon’s Enzo Rellosa, Visayas’s Mario Borbon, Jr. and Mindanao’s April King Mascardo; the team took home one podium finish and impressive times. Mascardo took home a third place trophy during the third round of SAC held at the Suzuki International Circuit—which is considered as one of the most difficult racetracks in the world. We’re hoping for great results from this year’s team as well.
