The Philippines enjoys an abundance of talented sportsmen and women. Besides the game of basketball that obviously require height as an advantage, Filipinos excel in boxing, rowing, weightlifting and many more. Soon, the Philippines may produce its own Valentino Rossi because two giants have vowed to support our young talents here.
Angkas – the largest motorcycle taxi service in the country, and Ducati Philippines/ Access Plus Group – the official distributor of Ducati and other premium motorcycle brands here in the country, has teamed up to help develop young circuit racers for the world stage.
“We believe with 18 million motorcycles, meron isa diyan at siguro andito na yung isa diyan na talagang magbibigay sa atin ng (there will be one or maybe he’s already here and will give our nation) national pride [in motorsports],” says Angkas CEO, George Royeca.
The Angkas Dream Cup, is racing program that is aimed at developing riders from the grassroots level for international competition, and hopefully soon for high-level motorsports competition like the MotoGP and the FIM Superbike World Championship (WSBK).
“With the proper support gaya ng binibigay ng Angkas, there’s a program where we teach our fellow Filipinos on how to succeed in the international [racing] level para mai-angat natin na ang Pilipino ay hindi lang nagma-maneho ng motor, pero competitive din internationally which is pinakita nila Troy and TJ [Alberto] na possible pala,” said Toti Alberto, Access Plus Group CEO and father to racing champions Troy and TJ Alberto.
According to Toti, brothers Troy and TJ will also help the talented and promising EJ Sobretodo, who has extensive experience in the Suzuki Asian Challenge, improve his lap times and become internationally competitive. Troy and TJ, on the other hand, has extensive experience racing internationally in Europe.
“Talagang nagpapasalamat ako kay Toti dahil sa partnership na binigay ng Ducati, kasi sino manlang ang Angkas? Ducati is a global brand, and they’re known for very very high-quality [motorcycles] and to be associated [with them], not just Ducati but what Toti has been doing for years. Living legend napo itong katabi natin and he’s imparted that knowledge to his sons, and his sons have become a better version of himself, and Troy and TJ has committed to share their knowledge to the rest of the Filipino people and we commend them for being generous to us,” added Royeca.
There’s a long road ahead for all of us to reach the international level of road racing, but like what Toti Alberto said, “sa tulong ng Angkas, magagawa natin (with the help of Angkas, we can definitely do it).”
