Timothy Joseph “TJ” and Troy Alberto brought home an Access Plus Racing 1-2 finish during Round 1 of the Philippine Superbike Championship (PSBK). This launched the team’s 2024 campaign in style with the Ducati Panigale V4 dominating both races at the Batangas Racing Circuit (BRC).

The Alberto brothers were busy testing ahead of the season opener to continue the development of their race bikes. It also helped Troy Alberto get re-acquainted with the 3.500 km track after spending several seasons competing overseas. While the results were promising, the extreme heat took its toll on his older brother TJ who fell ill days before the race weekend.

Pushing through his illness, TJ Alberto got his head down in Qualifying and squeezed every ounce of performance out of his #77 Ducati. His blistering 1:33.691 lap was nothing short of a miracle and put the defending 3-time PSBK champion on pole position. Meanwhile, his younger brother Troy also impressed with a 1:34.193, which was good enough for a front-row start in P3 spot.

As the lights turned green in Race 1, both Access Plus Racing riders stormed to the front with TJ Alberto leading his younger brother Troy into Turn 1. Troy then came under intense attack and dropped to P3 on lap 2 as Marvin Mangulabnan on the Aprilia found a way past. But it was short-lived when Troy on the #69 Ducati regained the P2 spot, which he held until the penultimate lap. With only a few corners to go, Mangulabnan made another gutsy move on Troy that saw the younger Alberto cross the finish line in a solid 3rd place while TJ Alberto secured Access Plus Racing’s first win of 2024.

With learnings from the morning race, the team made sure that Race 2 will be a 1-2 finish for Ducati and Access Plus Racing. The brothers made a quick getaway at the start with TJ Alberto in the lead and Troy in tow. From then on, the pair sailed off in the distance and never looked back. Through Shell Advance’s fully synthetic lubricants that provides ultimate performance and protection under extreme conditions, they went on to secure 1st and 2nd places in dominant fashion with over an 8 secs lead over their nearest rival.

The Philippine Superbike Championship (PSBK) will return to the Batangas Racing Circuit (BRC) for Round 2 of the 2024 season. Action resumes on the 1st and 2nd of June where Access Plus Racing aims to repeat their strong performance at the top of the results.

TJ Alberto, #77:

“I’m honestly surprised with my results. I really worked hard for this one. I was under the weather at the start of the weekend after testing in extremely hot weather. I came into Friday practice still very weak and sick. But I’m happy to complete the triple this weekend despite all that. This one really took maximum effort out from me and I’m looking forward to doing the next races in full fitness! Good way to start the season still and looking forward to Round 2.”