Team Suzuki Pilipinas 2nd Overall Championship Win in Suzuki Asian Challenge (SAC) 2017

  • Another History Made by Team SUZUKI Pilipinas As SAC Capped The 2017 Season

After a series of podium wins and head to head battle with other Asian contenders, Team Suzuki Pilipinas concluded the Suzuki Asian Challenge (SAC) 2017 which runs in conjunction with the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) with a 2 nd Overall Championship win – a first of the country at the said single-make race hosted by Suzuki Motor Corporation and is produced by Team Kagayama.

 

The final round saw the country’s frontrunner April King Mascardo (#16) and Eane Jaye Sobretodo (#22) working together to secure the former’s overall standing at 2nd place. On to the qualifying, both were on a good start but Mascardo low side crashed mid-way to his first lap which required him to go out of the track to have his bike fixed. With only 7 minutes remaining, Mascardo went back on the track and still managed to get the 4th position on the grid. Race 1 showed Mascardo achieving his 4th podium win of the season with a 2nd place win against contenders from Thailand on their homecourt. Race 2 capped with Sobretodo preserving the pace of the lead pack for Mascardo to catch up from the 2nd pack which he successfully did.

More Photos here

Getting the championship title is Punchana Kulrojchalalai of Thailand who also got the 3 rd and 1st podium win during Races 1 & 2 respectively. Following on 3rd place is Japan’s Tetsuya Fajita who finished 2nd place on Race 2.

 

Here is the summary of Team Suzuki Pilipinas wins over the season:

Round 1– Johor International Circuit

Race 1 – Mario Borbon Jr. – 1 st Place

Race 2 – April King Mascardo – 1 st Place

Round 2 – Chang International Circuit

Race 1 – April King Mascardo – 1 st Place

Round 4 – Sentul International Circuit

Race 1 – April King Mascardo – 2 nd Place

Round 5 – Chang International Circuit

Race 1 – April King Mascardo – 2 nd Place

 

Overall Standings

2 nd Overall – April King Mascardo

8 th Overall – Eane Jaye Sobretodo

9 th Overall – Mario Borbon Jr.

 

Team Suzuki Pilipinas raced this season with strong contenders from Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. This year, the SAC riders competed on board the revolutionary Suzuki GSX-R150 – the sportbike that will transform the lightweight class. Taking design inspiration and technology from the GSX-R1000R, the GSX-R150 is a fully faired sportbike bearing the same DNA of Suzuki’s champion motorcycle – GSX-R1000R. The new GSX-R150 is the newest addition by Suzuki to the Asian market which uses a backbone frame. The street version has a size of 2020mm X 700mm X 1,075mm, with a wheelbase of 1300mm. The weight is 131kg with an engine of 147.3cc with a maximum horsepower of 14.1kW. SAC modified this base machine geared towards racing.

 

The team’s performance at the SAC 2017 Season underscored that the objectives of the race are achieved. Exposing and training these riders to be world class champions is the main advocacy of the program. This historical win also proves that the Filipinos are a strong force to be reckoned with in the world of motorsports.


For more details and photos please contact: Suzuki Philippines Advertising and PR at +63 917 866 7442 Visit us www.suzuki.com.ph or join our community at www.facebook.com/SuzukiMotorcyclesPhilippines