On Local Motorcycle Racing

Lately, I’ve been hearing from friends in the motorcycle community that some motorcycle racers, specifically participants in the National Superbike series, were displeased about a story that I wrote in the Race Report section of Volume 3 Issue 5 of MotorCycle Magazine, the one with Maui Taylor and the Yamaha ELF YRS R6 on the cover. A few were said to be steaming mad and were of the opinion that I’m not qualified to write about racing because I don’t race motorcycles myself.

Well, I’m sorry, guys, but I don’t need to race motorcycles to write about local racing. Since I was 10 years old, I’ve been following Formula One races when it was still called Grand Prix in the early 70s as I’ve been following motorcycle racing when Barry Sheen, Kenny Roberts, Wayne Rainey and Freddie Spencer were lording over the Motorcycle Grand Prix circuits. Locally, I look up to Dodjie Laurel, Pocholo Ramirez, Dante Silverio and Arthur Tuason as the car racing heroes of my youth and I consider Butch Chase and Jackie Enrile as my motocross idols. I’ve also read, with some great interest, the rules and regulations that surround these and other world-class motor sport races.

Before I became a motoring journalist, I’ve had my share of amateur car racing experiences in drag racing, slalom and gymkhana, (not to mention illegal street racing) and I further honed my off-road, rally cross and circuit car racing skills when I became a writer thanks to the Honda Media Challenge, where my team was the overall champion for three years. I’ve also gone karting and dabbled in invitational media motorcycle races and I’ve gotten some podium finishes in most of them. Suffice to say, I know what it means to be competitive in a race, whether on two wheels or four, wheel-to-wheel or against the clock, and I’ve enjoyed the glory of victory and suffered through the agony of defeat.

But I also know my limits. I know that physiologically and psychologically, we become slower as we age and that racing requires a lot of money. I currently have neither the aggression of youth nor the generous funding to race competitively the way I want to and I am not inclined to do things half-way.

I also do not like how some people manipulate the rules of local racing just to please some of the racers, especially the influential ones but I do keep myself abreast of most racing activities that interests me, including local motorcycle racing. Out of respect to the promise I made to Al Camba of Inside Racing magazine before I started MotorCycle Magazine, I opted not to concentrate on motorcycle racing stories even though I usually get updated with results from races around the country.

However, I just couldn’t remain silent when they’re making a travesty of the local motorcycle racing scene, especially the National Superbike Series, where Maico Buncio, Jolet Jao and Benjo Mendoza battle for the Superbike Expert Championship with their race-prepped 600cc motorbikes. A lot of my friends and acquaintances who know that I have access to the results of these races have been calling to ask about the confusion that arose from recent press releases made by the group supporting Glenn Aguilar.

For the information of those who have not read Aguilar’s press releases, they state that Glenn “ruled” the Superbike series in his first full rookie season beating 2007 champion Maico Buncio and 10-time titlist Jolet Jao by accumulating 294 points. These releases give the impression that Glenn won the 2008 Superbike Championship – which he did not.

What Glenn won this year was the Superbike Open Class championship, in which he’s the only official entry with his Yellow Cab Pizza-sponsored 2008 Ducati 1098.

The Open Class category was created to accommodate bikes with displacements of 750cc and larger. In 2007, Glenn moved from motocross racing to road racing when he raced in the Open Class with his 2007 Suzuki GSX-R 750. His exploits during this “rookie year” were not released to the press because the Open Class was then considered as a non-bearing race or as they say in local parlance, “saling pusa”. However, his participation last year disproves his press releases that 2008 is his rookie year.

This year, Glenn’s group came out with confusing press releases that picture him as the “imminent champion” when, in fact, Maico Buncio and Jolet Jao were the ones battling for the National Superbike 600cc Expert Championship, which is considered as the ultimate motorcycle road racing series in the country.

Perhaps, in an effort to legitimize the Open Class, the race officials decided to include Maico and Jolet in the Open Class even when they did not qualify or even register for the category. Thus, even when Maico and Jolet came in first and second places in the Superbike Expert Class races with their 600cc race bikes, Glenn would be declared as the “winner” in the Open Class because he finished ahead of the two racers with his 1100cc race bike. In all my years of following motorcycle races, I’ve never seen such an unfair contest, running a 600cc midsized sport bike against an 1100cc super sport bike.

When Maico was racing with his old white-and-red 2003 Yamaha R6 (and its borrowed engines), he could catch up with Glenn’s Ducati 1098 at the corners only to be left behind at the straights by the big Ducati’s horsepower and torque advantage. But when his blue Yamaha ELF YRS-sponsored race-prepped 2007 Yamaha R6 arrived just in time for the final two races (Race 11 and 12) at the Batangas Racing Circuit, Maico used the skills he learned while racing in the American Motorcyclists Association (AMA) Superbike races in Fontana and Laguna Seca, skillfully and convincingly passed Glenn inside the Yamaha Curve and then went on to win Race 11 with Glenn in second place. In Race 12, Glenn tried to follow Maico’s racing line but his front wheel skid, giving Maico the win while Glenn was able to salvage a third place finish. Glenn’s 2nd and 3rd place finishes in Race 11 and 12 of the Open Class also disproves the claims of his press releases that he “swept” the season to bag the crown.

Winning Race 11 and 12 of the Superbike Expert Class series officially made Maico Buncio as the 2008 National Superbike Champion. Period.

Now, if I were Glenn Aguilar, I’d tell my PR team to stop coming out with these misleading press releases because they aren’t good for the sport and for his professional image. While these releases may be aimed at pleasing their sponsors, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth for the sponsors of the legitimate winning teams. These misleading press releases also diminish Glenn’s stature as a multi-titled motocross champion with 11 Rider of the Year awards, 22 national titles and an Asian motocross championship to his name.

After all, racing was made to improve the breed. Maico Buncio has been racing abroad at his own expense (and with his family’s support) to enrich his knowledge, broaden his experience and hone his skills further. By doing so, he has also honed the skills of his local competitors when they dice with him, whether they acknowledge it or not.

On the other hand, sponsors go racing for the exposure, the competitive environment and for the media mileage because of the mantra “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday.” But with the small number of racers, the low spectator turn-out and the poor media exposure, including these misleading press releases, many sponsors, including some major motorcycle manufacturers, are beginning to wonder if it’s worth investing in local motorcycle racing.

As a motor sports aficionado, I would love to see local racing grow into an institution and into an industry. I see motorcycle racing as a more cost-effective way for the average Juan dela Cruz to get into a racing suit. But I hate it when racers claim that they won something that they didn’t. Likewise, I hate spin doctors who lie through their teeth by doing PR work for corrupt government officials and I hate them even more when they write for local racers who aren’t the real winners.

Since the battle cry of The Philippine STAR is “Truth Shall Prevail”, I feel that it is my duty to write only what is true, even if it means losing some of my friends in the motorcycle community. However, if you still want to object to this column, you know where to reach me.

(You can email Lester at [email protected] or you can call him at 386-6288 during office hours.)

This week we give way to one of our regular philstar.com bloggers who posted a very insightful comment on last week’s lead story, The Civic Choice by Kap Aguila. Keep your comments coming, we always love to hear from you – whether it’s a reaction on the comments we raise or on an article one of us wrote.

Like the writer, I love my Civic also (a 2007 coupé) and the style is what I like about it, plus the performance and gas consumption. I took note of my gas mileage and it came out to be close to 15km/li! Toyota had to change the design of their latest Corolla because of the Civic but it still came out short. It just looks like a small Camry. I would love to have the SI but it only sips premium gas! – abdul

Speak out, be heard and keep those text messages coming in. To say your piece and become a “Backseat Driver”, text PHILSTAR<space>FB<space>MOTORING<space>YOUR MESSAGE and send to 2840 if you’re a Globe or Touch Mobile subscriber or 334 if you’re a Smart or Talk ’n Text subscriber or 2840 if you’re a Sun Cellular subscriber. Please keep your messages down to a manageable 160 characters. You may send a series of comments using the same parameters.)