Sablaya Ends The Pilipinas Dream Cup With Flying Colors

OCTOBER 7, 2018

Photo credits to: Leo John Cordova

Clark International Speedway (CIS), Pampanga – October 6-7, 2018 — It’s the season finale of the 2018 Petron National Motorcycle Championship, and the 6^th round of the Honda Pilipinas Dream Cup (HPDC) has come. What better way to honor the occasion than to show off the HPDC riders their skills and talent at the track.

The qualifying round started early for the riders as they took off from the pit gate at 8:55 a.m., with Rider #6 Sean Barcial (P1) making the best time at 2:25.729, while Rider #1 Kervie Bergania made 2:25,995 which landed him on (P2). Rider #7 Jakob Sablaya, who lead the pack in the overall points, had a time of 2:28.052 which took him to (P3), putting him close to rider #8 Andrei Reyes and #2 Wyner Blente, who landed on (P4 and P5) respectively. Meanwhile, Rider #12 Jasper Cruz and #4 Sean Ondillo got (P6 and P7), respectively.

 Race 1, Saturday, 11:00 a.m.

As the red light went off, the seven riders sped off for a 5-lap battle. Barcial Took the opportunity to lead from P1, but Sablaya did not make it easy for Barcial, making his way in the 1^st corner. From the 2^nd up to the final lap, Sablaya, Barcial, Bergania, Reyes and Blente, sliced and diced across the 4.2 km track, while Cruz and Ondillo were left behind with a total of 24.524 sec. gap.

Sablaya took the hearts of the crowd as he rode his CBR150R in the straights and corners like they were as one, taking the lead of the pack from Barcial and Bergania for the 2^nd and 4^th lap. However, Barcial managed to take the lead from Sablaya on the so called “Acacia” at the west course. Barcial charged on the chicane; while Sablaya was still trying to take the lead on the last stretch. At the last corner, Barcial managed to stay on the lead taking Race 1 for 1^st place with a total time of 12:10.286 with a fastest time of 2:25.708. On the other hand, Sablaya got 2^nd place with a total time of 12:10.719 and with a fastest time of 2:26.553; and finally, Bergania took 3^rd place with a total time of 12:10.807 and with a fastest time of 2:26.506.

Race 2, Sunday, 9:15 a.m.

With everyone’s strong excitement for the final leg of the season, the 5 lap race started. The first row of riders was composed of Barcial, Sablaya and Bergania competed to reach the first corner to get the lead and break away from the pack. As Barcial had the first corner, nobody gave in easily. Sablaya and Bergania were able to catch up quickly and steal the lead position while Bergania followed through, taking Barcial back to the 3^rd spot. On the 3^rd lap, Barcial has once again able to slice through the 4^th corner at the Acacia from Sablaya, but Bergania remained strong and was able to slip stream through Barcial. On the final lap, Sablaya was determined to take this race and finish strong, thus on the last straight, Sablaya has secured the lead, taking the last corner with the checkered flag raised, followed by Bergania for the 2^nd and Barcial in 3^rd.

Jakob Sablaya:

“Masaya ako sa naging resulta ng Round 6 dahil nung race 1, magkakadikit kami nila Kervie, Sean, Wyner and Andrei. Hindi ko nakuha ang Lead position sa Race 1, pero hindi ko pinakawalan ang race 2. Kahit nasa P3 ako, kinuha ko yung mga opportunity na nakita ko kung saan ako makaka lusot. Masaya ako sa resulta at performance ko sa buong season kasi nakuha ko ang championship ng 2018 Honda Pilipinas Dream Cup.”

Sean Barcial

“Nung Qualifying round hindi ko  expected ang P1, pero nagulat ako na nakuha ko ito, kaya nung Race 1, Hindi ko pinalampas ang pagkakataon na lumaban at masaya ang palitan namin sa loob ng track. Nung Race 2, naging aggressive ako sa cornering ko and chicane, naging maganda ang laban namin nina Jakob at Kervie. Happy parin ako dahil malaki parin ang nakuha kong points.

Kervie Bergania:

”Masaya ako sa naging resulta ko this weekend. Naramdaman ko talaga na nag improve ang aking skills at napakita ko yun sa Race 1 and 2, consistent na ang aking takbo sa podium finish ko. Masasabi ko lang na malaking bagay na nakasali ako sa Dream Cup. Maraming Salamat Honda.”

Overall Results.

Honda Philippines, Inc. is proud to see the improvements of all participants skills and time at the track by an average of 5.0 seconds from the previous time they have joined the program, we also saw the improvement the riders skills and handling of the CBR150R.  In conclusion, the 2018 Honda Pilipinas Dream Cup Champion is Alfred Jakob Sablaya with a total of 280 pts., Sean Barcial with 238 pts. and Andrei Samuel Reyes with 194 pts.

For more information, follow Honda Philippines, Inc. on Facebook – www.facebook.com/hondaph/ or visit their official website – www.hondaph.com

Photo credits to: Leo John Cordova