MANILA, Philippines - John Marcelo made a big impact in his first stint in the superbike as he annexed two victories in the season finale of the Bridgestone Philippine Superbikes Championships at the Clark International Speedway in Pampanga recently.
Marcelo, a former national jet ski champion, topped the Naked Class of the Ducati Cup and reigned in Class C of the K-58 race in his first race after a long layoff.
Marcelo, who reached the semis of the World Jet Ski Finals in Arizona in 1996, also had short stints in karting and circuit racing before shifting his focus to helping son Stefano Marcelo become a four-time karting champion.
“It feels good to be back in racing. At first, I was kind of lost on what to do but after two or three laps, the body and mind worked in unison and I regained the memory of my competitive racing years back,” said Marcelo.
He started sixth in the nine-man field of the Ducati Cup but moved up to fifth in the next lap, before grabbing fourth place in the fifth.
Gaining confidence, he posted the third best laptime of 2:12.128 to pass more experienced Superbikes competitor Charles Nolasco in the final lap.
He wound up third just 1.676 seconds behind race winner and Masters champion John Defensor and runner-up Toti Alberto to clinch the Naked class crown over Rommel Ayson.
Marcelo then held his ground in the 16-man combined race, riding a touring bike against track specific racing bikes of other K58 B and C riders.
Running with a consistent fastest laptime of 2:12.591, he wrested the top spot from Clemen Canaria in the fourth and pulled away to preserve his post from thereon.