That unique perspective

Race enthusiast Philip Alvendia has a unique distinction — and a very unique perspective. As the only Filipino who competes in both the National Superbike and the National Touring Car Championships, he’s the only Filipino at the moment who officially races on either four or two wheels at a time. This has made him a regular fixture at the Batangas Racing Circuit (BRC) — be it on weekends devoted to bikes or on weekends devoted to cars. You can probably imagine the kind of paradigm shift this guy goes through everytime he sets, uh, wheels on the track.

In everything that he does (at least as far as motorsports go), Philip has to make sure that the disciplines, approaches and even the very tools of the trade are clearly made distinct from one another. Where the good habits and practices begin for one race, is where the good habits and practices for another ends. Still, Philip has learned to pay close attention to both aspects of motorsports. He is especially learned when talk of tires come along. Rightfully so. When Philip is not pushing the throttle in the twists and turns of the BRC, he spends most of his time doing consultancy work at the Bridgestone Tire Center in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig. One can probably say that the Bridgestone Tire Center is where the racer in Philip actually meets the salesman in him.

"Everyone knows about Bridgestone’s involvement in F1, and its winning ways with Ferrari. But what few people know is that Bridgestone has also just recently gone into Moto-GP, which is the pinnacle of motorcycle racing, the counterpart of F1 for motorcycle racing," he begins. "And in one and a half years, you’d be amazed at how far their technology has grown in the development of motorcycle tires."

It’s obvious that Bridgestone has used its success in the realm of Formula 1 quite efficiently to improve the development of its street tires. The same, apparently, goes for the development of its motorcycle tires. "The nice thing about Bridgestone is that it’s a company that goes into all these motorsports developments with the sole purpose of improving the performance of their mass-production tires," says Philip. "They actually spend all this money with the bottom line of producing good street tires in mind. In that sense, Bridgestone is taking this course of action with a very unique perspective. It isn’t about the publicity, it’s about research and development."

The more you talk to Philip, the more you’ll realize that he’s probably just as involved with his consultancy work at the Tire Center as he is with his motorcycle and car racing. He, for example, is very much aware of what the Filipino motorcycle tire buyer is concerned with, given the conditions of Philippine roads. "There are a number of concerns as far as Filipino motorcycle owners go. For example, it’s a fact that the stickier the tire, the faster it burns. And with road conditions like ours, its easy for a tire to deteriorate. To address this, Bridgestone developed a motorcyle tire with a dual compound. This means that the center portion of Bridgestone’s motorcycle tires are harder compared to the side of the tires. So when you’re traveling on a straight line, which is what most motorcycle owners in the city do, your tire won’t easily burn, hindi agad mapupudpod. You only need softer tires when you’re banking — because then you’ll need more grip. The softer compound on the side of the tire gives you this traction. In essence, you then get the best of both worlds," he explains.

The best of both worlds is what Philip enjoys on an almost daily level, too. When he’s not racing on his bike or in his car, he’s giving advice to kindred souls who love motorsports as well. Such is the market that the Bridgestone Tire Center has attracted since it opened. "Steven Tagle (Bridgestone Tire Center general manager) and I are always here to discuss the nitty-gritty of tires with anyone who wants to maximize their tires’ performance. That’s probably the best thing about the Tire Center — you don’t just get to hear what you want, you get to hear options. We’ll give you what we think is best for you, not necessarily what we think will be a good sell," Philip smiles. That, perhaps, is what a unique perspective provides best — options that work better for the motorist in the long run.