Philippine Masters returns & kicks off all new Asian Buggy Championships

The excitement is building in Manila ahead of this weekend’s Philippine Masters which returns following a forced Covid break of more than 2-years.  Asia’s premiere 1:8 Offroad race, a capacity entry will battle it out in both nitro Buggy and Truggy to become the latest champion of the established event.  Adding to the excitement of the weekend is that the Philippine Masters will kick off the brand new Asian Buggy Championships that has been created by Scotty Ernst, a figure who was instrumental in helping take the Philippines Masters from a local race to one which has brought some of the worlds best drivers to the capital city.  This year is no exception with back to back World Champion Davide Ongaro leading the entry for Team Associated.  While the Italian will be here to embrace the country’s tagline, ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines’, he is also here to win but will have to work for it as he will be joined by former World Champion Robert Batlle.

Batlle would love nothing more than a victory for the Mayako team for whom this will be their first time contesting the event.  Sworkz is also sending a factory driver with Micha Widmaier making the journey from Germany and he will be joined by Sworkz founder Scott Yang who is also racing this weekend.  Having such an international field is a huge boost not just for the local Filipino drivers as a way to showcase and develop their talents but for the entire Asian RC scene, a fact that is highlighted by the huge contingent of Australian on the entry list.  As the opening round of the inaugural 3 race Asia Buggy Championships, of which VP Racing is the title sponsor, drivers maybe not be focused on trying to beat Ongaro but they will certainly be looking for a good result in carry into Round 2 of the championship in Brisbane, Australia, in July.  Also attracting series support from Matrix Tires, TLR and Tekno, the Round 3 venue has yet to be finalised but ongoing talks with a host track mean an announcement can be expected very shortly.  Having previously attended the Philippine Masters in 2017 when Ty Tessmann took the win from then reigning World Champion David Ronnefalk and Atsushi Hara, Red RC will be in Manila to cover the return of the event and the beginning of the Asian Buggy Championship.

Image: Asian Buggy Championship [asianbuggychamps.com]