SHANNONVILLE, ON Granby, QC’s Pascal Picotte set the pace in practice Saturday for this weekend’s opening round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Shannonville Motorsport Park, but he will have to wait an extra day to make his bid for pole position. A scheduled 45-minute qualifying session to set the field for Sunday’s race was cancelled, along with the majority of Saturday afternoon’s activities, following an oil spill early in qualifying for the Amateur 600 Sport Bike class. As a result, a 20-minute Sunday morning warm-up session will instead be used as a qualifying period for the Parts Canada Superbike competitors. Picotte, the two-time defending series champion set the quickest time of the weekend in Saturday morning’s practice, recording a blazing one minute, 4.469 seconds on the Picotte Performance Yamaha YZF-R1. Francis Martin of Rock Forest, QC was second quickest after recording a time of 1:05.375 on the DXS Diablo Performance Suzuki GSX-R1000 and Brantford, ON’s Jordan Szoke was third aboard the Fast Company Honda CBR1000RR after setting a time of 1:05.560. Martin, the 1999 Superbike champ had set the pace on Friday with a time of 1:05.040. “We didn’t make any major changes,” Picotte said, “just little things to make me more comfortable. I think we can still find a little bit here and there. There’s always room for improvement.” The oil spill came as the result of a crash in the final turn of the 2.45km (1.53-mile) Shannonville ‘Pro’ circuit early in Amateur 600 Sport Bike qualifying. Initial attempts to clean the track proved unsuccessful, and series and track officials elected to curtail the remainder of the day’s activities rather than risk the safety of competitors on a potentially dangerous track surface. Saturday morning practice times were used to set the field for the International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike race. Mark Douglas of Warkworth, ON will start from pole on his Yamaha YZF-R6 after recording a time of 1:09.957. Woodstock, ON’s James Collins will line-up second, also on a Yamaha after recording a 1:10.057. Hamilton’s Dave Stewart will start third on his Suzuki GSX-R600. He recorded a best lap of 1:10.127. Qualifying was held Saturday for the Hindle Exhaust Pro 600 Sport Bike and Thunder classes. Kleinburg, ON’s Frank Trombino claimed pole for the Pro 600 Sport Bike race with a time of 1:05.752 on his Trombino Yamaha Racing Yamaha YZF-R6. Steve Crevier of Maple Ridge, BC placed second at 1:05.905 on the DXS Diablo Performance Honda CBR600RR and Granby’s Kevin Lacombe was third with a 1:06.380 riding his Blackfoot Suzuki GSX-R600. Darren James of North Vancouver led the eight-lap Thunder qualifying heat from start to finish on his Buell XB9R. Saturday morning practice times were used to set the line-up for the Suzuki SV650 Cup feature. Alain Lefebvre of Rouyn-Noranda, QC will start from pole after recording a time of 1:12.345. Feature races in all five national classes will run Sunday. Practice begins at 8:30 a.m. with the first race scheduled for a 12:20 p.m. start.