Jao favored to annex sixth crown this weekend

Defending champion Jolet Jao of Shell Advance-Rolex Engineering is all set to capture his sixth crown in seven years as he guns for the Expert crown of the Shell Advance Superbike Series this weekend at the Casino Filipino Grand Prix at the Batangas Racing Circuit in Rosario, Batangas.

All Jao has to do is finish the remaining three rounds in this event sanctioned by the National Motorcycle Sport and Safety Association (NAMSSA) and sponsored by the Batangas Racing Circuit Association (BRCA) Board of Governors, Pilipinas Shell, Toyota Motors Phil., Casino Filipino, MOF Shipping, Norkis-Yamaha, Marlboro, and Kilton Motors Corporation.

His win in the last leg hiked his total series points to 216, enough to virtually assure him of the plum.

But much of the focus in this weekend’s race will be on the tough battle between Toti Alberto of Access Plus-Ducati Manila and Rod Scott of RS Racing for the runner-up crown.

Alberto is second overall with 161 points but even a slight miscalculation could reverse the tide in favor of Scott who’s third overall with 133.

Joining the fray are Jeff Andres of JA Rapid Bike Racing (106), Randy Ortiz of RC Car Exchange (90), Wacky "The Superwoman" del Rosario of Petron Blaze-Metzeler (86), privateers Jose Reyes IV (65) and Rey Relativo (55), Ryan Thomas and Victor Velasquez.

In the Novice division, Petron Blaze protege Julian Goitia hopes to fortify his bid for top rookie honors against Nikki Romero of Club 200 and Jade Lazaro of AJRL.

Joining them in the hunt for the title are Kiko Roco of Shell-Yamaha, Alex Perez of Crotch Rocket, Maite Villegas of Petron Blaze, privateer Jeffrey Chan, Ricky Montelibano of 221 Cycleworks, Caret Mapa, Luv-luv Tioseco and Chris Borillo.