Birthday boy wishes for win, safe race

Defending champion and the Philippines’ No. 2 rider Popeye Rubi celebrated his 24th birthday yesterday competing in the 2005 Saipan MX Championships at the Cowtown Raceway Park in Marpi.

Asked what his birthday wishes were, the Cebuano rider gamely replied that he wants to repeat as champion and prays that all participants of the motocross remain safe for the duration of the weekend.

Rubi’s wishes, however, went off to a bad start when he encountered a spill in the first heat of the 125cc expert class race. The accident relegated him to fourth place behind countryman and Philippines No. 1 Jovie Saulog, New Zealand’s James “Robo” Robertson, and local motocross legend Cuki Alvarez.

However, everyone who has been around Rubi long enough knows that like his cartoon namesake, the Philippines’ No. 2 rider is always “strong to the finish.”

The pride of Cebu said his hopes at defending his Saipan crown remain high despite the mishap. He admitted though it would really be hard repeating as champion, especially with the presence of chief rival Saulog and Robertson and with Alvarez back in the fray.

Rubi said he loves coming back to the island because he has a lot of friends here and the people are warm and friendly. He said he renewed acquaintances with local riders Steve Sablan, Jay Jones, and Dave Berger in the 2005 FIM World Championships earlier in the year in Palawan and they have became fast friends.

He also said that the host of the 2005 Saipan MX Championships, the Marianas Racing Association, has done a terrific job in advancing the sport on Saipan. He said he was most impressed about the transformation of Cowtown from last year’s super motocross layout to the more conventional outdoor motocross setup this year.

MRA vice president Joe Flores said the Saipan MX Championships is off to a good start despite a delay in the opening ceremonies. He said riders have been racing aggressively and he hopes safety would not be a problem during the course of the two-day event.

Flores also is happy that Alvarez is back racing once again after injuries forced him to sit out some races. “We need somebody from our island to represent us and he’s been doing well against an international field of riders,” he said.