The 4S1M YamahaRacing Team powered by BRT and Racing Force was at the Batangas Racing Circuit
last April 29 & 30, 2017 to participate in the first races of the 2017
season. With the full backing of their sponsors—MDS, Panda, Racing Boy, FDR,
MP, and Racing Pro—the team was in very high spirits.
They showed up full-force
with veteran riders Herbert Lopez, Mark Djereck Ondillo, and Jeff Teopengco. The
annual Eneos Philippine Motorsports Championships bring together some of the
very best amateur riders across the country to compete in a series of races in
different categories.
For this race, 4S1M
brought with it fully-customized Yamaha bikes and scooters. From the branded
4S1M fuel-injected engine to the high-end FDR tires, from the MDS helmets to
the custom racing mufflers, everything was geared towards speed and
performance.
Equally prepared was the team’s mechanics and crew who set about
carefully tuning each ride prior to the race itself. Spirits and hopes were
certainly high in spite of the hot Batangas weather.
The first day of the
two-day competition featured qualifying time trials for the two events that
4S1M participated in: the 150CC Underbone for Lopez, and the 160CC PSR Scooter
for Ondillo and Teopengco. While each rider posted good times in their time
trial runs, several difficulties with their respective bikes and their parts
emerged.
This caused the supporting mechanics and crew to continuously look
over the bikes and tweak their many different components. Rider Herbert Lopez
remained determined, however, saying: “I have to win. I’ll find away to push
myself to win.”
The second day of
actual races, saw a spate of challenges which hit the team—normal for this type
of event—but the racers certainly showed heart. Lopez was neck-in-neck
throughout the race in his 150CC Underbone Race. He went on to bag the fastest
lap time versus stiff competition.
Ondillo and Teopengco also made good on
their own 160CC PSR Scooter Race, posting a respectable finish. While not the
top spots hoped for, it’s very early in the season to ultimately tell, and the
team was confident it could conquer the succeeding legs of the series.
Ronald Uy, 4S1M’s
team manager was highly optimistic, praising his team: “They all—mechanics,
crew, riders—gave their all for the race. We’ll prepare again (for the next
leg). We can’t be complacent—we should grow stronger with every race. We just
need to keep helping each other out.”
Chief Mechanic San Victores echoed his
manager’s sentiment: “We got fastest lap. Next time, we’ll do even better—we’ll
improve on the set up. Improvements never stop, anyway.”
With that, the team
heads back to Manila to fine-tune their gear, practice harder, and prepare for
the second leg of the 2017 Philippine Motorsports Championships. This leg will
be run on June 3-4, 2017 at the Clark International Speedway.
4S1M-Yamaha
Racing Team: People, Parts, & Passion
The 4S1M-Yamaha Racing Team powered by BRT and
Racing Force kicked off its 2017 racing season at the Batangas Racing Circuit
last April 29-30, 2017—all with the full backing of its sponsors: MDS, Panda,
Racing Boy, FDR, MP, and Replica PRO.
With many other teams fielding their own
set of races across a series of different races and events, how does any one
team stand out? For the 4S1M-Yamaha Racing Team, it all boils down to three things:
people, parts, and passion. These three form the very heart and soul of the
team, and each one contributes to the complete the character of the whole.
People: A
Team United
For many racing teams, it’s the racers that stand
out the most. That’s certainly the case with 4S1M where the trio of Herbert
Lopez, Mark Djereck Ondillo, and Jeff Teopengco frontline the team. Lopez began
his racing career at 15 years of age, and it was easy going from there as his
entire family was into motorsports.
Ondillo found a little more in the way of a
challenge as his mother did not initially approve of his chosen sport.
Teopengco started the latest in 2006 and was weighed down by the lack of
sponsors. But what unites all three is the love for the sport they all had which
pushed them onwards towards where they stand today.
With 4S1M, however, it’s not just about the racers.
The entire crew that supports them plays a critical and respected role in the
team as a whole. While things are visibly hectic on race day itself, Chief
Mechanic San Victores explained: “Improvements don’t happen just (on race day).
Every single day, we test; and we test to ensure that the setup is perfect.”
Team Manager Ronald Uy added that their preparations began months ahead of the
event. That fact only highlights the unity that is critical to making
4S1M-Yamaha Racing Team function effectively.
Parts: A Cut
Above
While the Pirelli race-sponsored competition-grade
racing tires provided a much needed boost to control and grip to the team’s
motorcycles, 4S1M also brings a spate of quality parts—many of which form the
core of their product line.
Front and center for this race was 4S1M’s own brand
of motorcycle racing engines, a 160 CC model fitted primarily in Ondillo and
Teopengco’s races. These were supplemented by imported the NSS suspension
system as well as their custom racing mufflers.
All of 4S1M’s parts form part of the team’s focus
on evolving technologies that they keep up with as they develop. Chief Mechanic
San Victores, in fact, stressed the team’s “need to keep pace with racing
technologies as they come into the market.”
Perhaps the biggest sign of the
team’s adapting of new technology is their shift from last year’s naturally
aspirated carburetor engines to the more modern, more efficient fuel-injected
versions.
Passion: A
Life Lived
While it’s clear that much of 4S1M lies in its
racers, its people, and its parts, the glue the binds them all together is a
very deep passion for motorsports. They started with the Eneos Philippine
Motorsports Championships in 2013 and in the four years since,
they’ve
constantly stepped up their performance and standing. Yet, through the
challenges they face, from the business of preparation to even the local hot
climate, they keep at it.
“Each one has a part to play, and each one plays
their part well,” said Team Manager Ronald Uy when asked for his overall
impression of his team. It’s still a long ways from the end of the 2017 racing
season, but with its participation in this first leg,
the 4S1M-Yamaha Racing
Team looks ready to tackle the many more legs it has to face to achieve
victory. From the attitudes that are on-display in these first two race days,
it’s looking to be an exciting season ahead.
For more information on 4S1M and 4S1M Yamaha Racing
Team powered by BRT and Racing Force, interested parties may visit its showroom
located at Racing Force, 2nd Avenue along Rizal Avenue, Caloocan
City visit sumracing.com.ph or like its fb page, facebook.com/forcespeed1m
No comments:
Post a Comment