Access Plus Racing-Ducati Philippines-Essenza finally made its debut at the recent 2019 Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) in Malaysia.
The Philippine team, which represented by Timothy Joseph “TJ” C. Alberto and Jonathan Serrapica, finished in sixth place in the top ASB1000 class category with their two Ducati Panigale V4R bikes.
The team completed two days in pre-season testing right before the season opener. This allowed them and its riders to fine tune the brand new bikes supplied by Ducati Corse in Italy.
Both riders would get off to a clean start in Race 1, marking the official debut of Access Plus Racing-Ducati Philippines-Essenza in the pinnacle category of the ARRC. Alberto lost some places in the chaos and settled in P10, but his consistency later paid off as other riders faltered. The Filipino rider capitalized on every opportunity to take the chequered flag in the seventh place. Likewise, Serrapica picked off the other riders one by one to move up the standings and finish right behind his teammate in the eight spot.
A sudden downpour greeted the ASB1000 class riders the following day right before the start of Race 2, drenching parts of the 5.542-kilometers track while leaving the rest dry.
The changing weather was made even more challenging since this was the first time for all teams to run on wet tires. But Serrapica showed his prowess in the tricky conditions and moved up to P9 by the second lap. The Italian-Swiss rider was on a charge amidst the downpour and was beginning to reel in P7 when he slid off track as the rain worsened. Although he managed to rejoin, he would again fall off the bike a second time and ultimately retired with only two laps to go. This left Alberto to fly the team colors who made an impressive overtake to claim sixth place on the run to the finish line.
The Round 2 of Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) will be held on the Bend Motorsport Park in Australia on April 25 to 28.