Motorcycle racing hits fever pitch this year as Yamaha Motor Philippines, Inc. launches the official Yamaha factory team at the Batangas Racing Circuit. This recent endeavor of Yamaha is aimed at capturing the interest of new generation riders, among whom the underbone class has a high popularity.
The team is comprised of two Expert Class riders, two Novice Class riders and three Support riders who have started competing in the NAMSSA Underbone King Nationals (UBK) 2008.
Competing in the Expert Class are veteran riders Maico Buncio and Jaime Barcial. Novice Class riders are Anthony Roman and Jeffrey Chan and the three Support Riders are Masato Fernando, Mark Barcial and James Barcial.

• Buncio has been a Yamaha rider since he started racing at 4 years old, starting with motocross then shifting to road racing when he turned 13. Aside from the 125cc Underbone class, Buncio also races in the SuperBike class, on a Yamaha R6, at BRC. At 19 years old, he is one of the more popular riders on the circuit, with his own set of fans looking out for him in every race. He said the support given by Yamaha as a factory team is very significant, adding that they have a better opportunity to really perform well on the racetrack.
• Barcial, on the other hand, has been actively racing for the past 12 years, starting with scooters, then SuperBikes, and now in underbone.
  “We’re happy that Yamaha has given their full support for the team. We don’t spend on anything, we even have an allowance. Now I know I have to keep on improving my performance so as not to disappoint our sponsor,” Barcial said.
• Novice Rider Jeffrey Chan says he feels very lucky to be part of the team. Chan started racing in 1996 and has tried almost all classes of bikes but later decided to focus on underbone because it was more exciting.“There are more competitors (in the underbone class). Most of the teams are factory supported. When you race the big bikes, it’s at your own expense so not everyone can afford that,” Chan explained.
  The support given by Yamaha now allows the riders to focus on the race ahead, said Chan.
• Anthony Roman is 16 years old and began racing professionally in 2006.
  He went into underbone right away and has never looked back since. As a relative newcomer in the field, Roman plans to gain as much experience as he can. Right now he is the points leader in the Novice 115cc category.