LACOMBE GETTING ON TRACK WITH NEW TEAM TORONTO, Ont. (June 9) Motorcycle road racer Kevin Lacombe finds himself in a familiar situation early in the Parts Canada Superbike Championship season getting to know a new bunch of guys. The 26-year-old from Granby, Que. is with his sixth different team in the past six years. Although he continues his relationship with Toyota Team Yamaha the factory team is now run by OTSFF (Ocean Transportation Services Freight Forward Inc.) with technical support coming from Texas- based Evan Steele Performance (ESP). And as if that wasn’t enough to keep him busy, Lacombe is also adapting to a radically different Superbike from Yamaha, the latest YZF-R1. But despite all the changes Lacombe is quickly settling in, and he comes to the second round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Circuit ICAR in Mirabel, Que. June 12-14 third in the point standings behind Jordan Szoke and Brett McCormick. “I was impressed with our first weekend,” admitted Lacombe, who placed third in the season opener at Calabogie Motorsports Park last month. “We were still getting some parts for the bike on Friday night and Saturday night. We made a lot of improvements from Thursday to Sunday and if we can do that again we’ll be right there in the race.” Lacombe is looking forward to racing in his home province for the first time since 2007. The Moto Journal-sponsored event will be run on a 3.45km (2.144-mile), 14-turn layout on the airport facility. “It’s pretty good to be back,” he explained. “It’s nice and close to Montreal and I think there will be a lot of people there. It should be a good show.” Lacombe will be one of the few riders not to have turned laps on the Mirabel track. Although the national series held a test day there last August, Lacombe was unable to take part because he had just broken his wrist in a racing accident. He then had to miss the warm-up regional event on May 30-31. “I don’t know anything about the track,” he conceded. “Hopefully we can get some good track time on Thursday because we need to get better and win races quickly if we want to win the championship.” Despite the constant changes to his race team, Lacombe has grown into a consistent front-runner on the Parts Canada Superbike tour. His best season came in 2006, when he won the final two races and finished second to Szoke in the point standings. Last year he was third in points riding for the Toyota Team Yamaha / Fast Company squad. He qualified on pole for two races and finished second in the season finale despite riding with his broken wrist. This year Lacombe thinks he has a very potent weapon in the new R1, which has a unique engine design that provides smoother power delivery exiting corners. “It’s got a lot of potential,” he explained. “We learned a lot at Calabogie and if we just get some more traction out of it we’ll be in good shape.” And Lacombe has also quickly grown comfortable with the new team around him. “I’ve got some really good mechanics,” he said. “Evan is very good with people and even though I’ve only been working with the guys for two weeks it feels like three years.” The team around Lacombe may look different this year, but one thing stays the same he’s right at the front and battling for the win. Some things never change. ***** The second round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship takes place June 12-14 at Circuit ICAR. For ticket information call (514) 955-4227 or visit www.circuiticar.com. For more series information, visit www.cdnsuperbike.com More, from another press release issued by Parts Canada Superbike Championship: BUSY BOUCHER GLAD TO BE HOME TORONTO, Ont. Montreal motorcycle road racer Marie-Josee Boucher has had a busy past few weeks. But she wouldn’t trade it for the world. The 28-year-old had the opportunity of a lifetime when she got a spot in the World Supersport Championship round at Miller Motorsport Park in Salt Lake City, Utah at the end of May. Although she didn’t qualify for the feature race she didn’t embarrass herself either, missing a spot in the final by about half a second. “I enjoyed it very much and I was very glad to go there,” Boucher said. “These guys are the quickest on Supersport bikes in the world, there is so much technology on the motorcycles and so many mechanics. “It was nice to be able to ride with them. My first few laps were a bit intimidating but once I got into my bubble it was just like being at a regular race track.” Boucher hopes to put the experience to good use as she continues her battle in the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Circuit ICAR in Mirabel, Que. June 12-14. The event, sponsored by Moto Journal, is the second round of the 2009 season. Boucher finished 14th in the Parts Canada Superbike season opener at Calabogie Motorsports Park last month and was 11th in the Yoshimura Pro Sport Bike race on her Excel Moto Hondas. “I was pretty happy with Calabogie,” Boucher said. “I had never been on the track before and I was surprised with my result in the Sport Bike race, because there are a lot of strong riders in that class this year. We didn’t have time to find the perfect set up on the Superbike and I had some problems at the start. They were both long races and the first of the year, so I got a little tired as well.” After her travels to the United States Boucher is looking forward to competing close to home. Not only will she get to sleep in her own bed but her major sponsor, Honda dealership Excel Moto is based in Montreal, not far from the track. “There are a lot of people here that have supported me in my racing,” she explained. “This is the home race for Excel Moto Honda so I hope to represent them well. I also have lots of friends who finally have a chance to come and see me race.” Boucher is the top female competitor in the Parts Canada Superbike national tour and last year she was also one of the best rookie Pros. She finished fourth in the HJC Pro Rookie of the Year standings and was an impressive 10th in the Pro Sport Bike rankings. She admits it will be tough to improve on that this season. “I think the Sport Bike series will be more competitive this year. Now Buell and BMW have teams in the class and there are a lot of good riders. If I can do top 10 in the points again I’ll be very happy. In Superbike I’d like to run in the top 12. I know I can take my place now. But I won’t get discouraged if I don’t get those results.” Having had a taste of international competition, Boucher would also like to try and spread her wings beyond Canada as well. Her trip to the World Supersport event was her only experience racing outside of Canada except for a brief run at Daytona International Speedway. “I’d never really been outside Canada to race and it was very exciting,” she admitted. “Miller is a pretty big track and really fast. We have more technical tracks here in Canada. But the layout of Miller was very fun. I was very surprised. And I can’t wait to go back.”