Round 6 Delivers a Double Podium When teams cruised to the Eastern reaches of our nation to the Atlantic Motorsport Park in Nova Scotia for the 6th round of the Canadian Superbike Series, they never expected the big story of the weekend to unfold before the first race began. The Suzuki / OTSFF / Alberta Cycle Acceleration Race team and manager/rider Clint McBain made history and changed the dynamics of the 2007 Canadian Superbike Championship battle. During round #4 at Mosport Raceway, McBain was running a 1st place effort aboard his Suzuki GSXR1000 when a red flag shortened the race by one lap. The victory was short lived as the team soon discovered that McBain was being penalized 5 positions for a jumping the start. The jump start penalty was immediately protested and finally on Aug 10/07 before the start of Round 6 of the National Championship Series, an Appeal Board viewed all the evidence and determined McBain had NOT jumped the start. They concluded the infraction should be overturned and the Mosport victory reinstated to its rightful owner. “I’m very happy to find out that we did indeed win that race in Mosport” declared a satisfied McBain. “That win puts us right back in the championship hunt”. Following the Appeal Board’s decision, the teams refocused to make the most of this penultimate round and the Suzuki Acceleration Race team was no exception. From the first practice session of the weekend, McBain set the pace. The experienced pilot led all but one practice session and qualified on the front row with a third place qualifying time just 2-tenths of a second from pole. By the time the Superbikes rolled onto the grid, excitement was running rapid. The enthusiastic Nova Scotia crowd was anticipating a real dogfight knowing everyone in the front row of the grid was so equally matched and all were familiar to the Atlantic Motosports Park podium. As the start lights winked green, the Suzuki Acceleration Racing GSXR leapt from the line falling just short of taking lead position. McBain came out of turn one in 3rd, glued to the rear wheel of veteran Steve Crevier. Both riders were shadowing leader Kevin Lacombe, and all three moved in fluid unison for the next 18 laps. After many attempts at making a pass for second, the nature of the challenging AMP track won over and McBain would have to settle for a 3rd place podium finish for his finely tuned Suzuki / OTSFF / Alberta Cycle GSXR. “I’m happy we were able to put the new GSXR 1000 on the podium today, but I would have really liked to just get out of the traffic,” shrugged McBain. “I felt race-pace was slower than what we could run, but I just couldn’t find the room to get the pass done.” McBain added that he really wanted to win here, not only for his team and sponsors, but also for the fans. Having been to AMP on three different occasions this season, he said it almost feels like a second home now. With 6 out of 7 rounds completed and having stood on each step of the podium so far this season, McBain and his Suzuki / OTSFF / Alberta Cycle GSXR1000 are going into the final round looking for another win and a possible 2007 Championship plate. “If it wasn’t for the incredible support of all our team sponsors, this team wouldn’t be fighting for the championship title right now,” McBain added sincerely, “Thanks once again to everybody involved, it’s been an incredible year.” More, from a press release issued by Prostar Motorsports Suzuki: Prostar Motorsports Suzuki privateer team on the Podium at Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia at round six of the Parts Canada Superbike National Championship The Prostar Motorsports Suzuki Superbike team competed in round six of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship in both the Yoshimura Pro 600 Sport bike and Superbike classes on August 10-12 in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia at Atlantic Motorsport Park. Team rider Frank Trombino was confident and focused coming in to the weekend and during the twenty five minute qualifying session for the Yoshimura pro 600 Sportbike class Trombino captured the fifth position aboard the American Legend / Prostar Suzuki GSXR 600 with a best lap time of 1:09.162 in what was an intense and very tightly contested qualifier as the difference from first place to fifth was only six tenths of a second. For the featured Superbike qualifying session, Trombino, on the Piazetta Trattoria / Prostar mounted Suzuki GSXR 1000 rode with determination and was as high as fourth in the earlier stages of qualifying and ended the session ninth on the grid with a best time of 1:08.886. The Prostar team remained focused on their race setup knowing that the race was going to be a long twenty two lap final on Sunday. The start of the fifteen lap Yoshimura Pro 600 Sportbike final saw Trombino get an excellent start and crossed the line in fifth place at the end of lap one fighting for the lead position. By the midway point of the race, Trombino passed Yamaha Canada’s Andrew Nelson for the fourth position and was in hot pursuit of Kevin Lacombe on another Factory Yamaha. However, on lap eleven the race was red flagged due to a downed rider. Series officials decided there would be a five lap sprint. With Trombino starting on the outside of row one for the restart he had an excellent launch and was up to third place by the end of the second lap right on the back wheel of second place rider Steve Crevier and race leader Jordan Szoke. On the last lap Frank briefly went to the lead point but was unable to hold off both Crevier and Szoke and they both repassed Trombino and Frank finished an impressive third place as the top placing privateer and top Suzuki. The Prostar team was ecstatic with their first production bike national podium finish and Trombino’s first in a couple of seasons. Following the race team leader Ben Gartner said, “I’m thrilled with this result as a privateer team being able to compete against two of the country’s best in a head’s up race, we showed our ability as a team today”. For the start of the twenty two lap final the Prostar team knew they would have there work cut out for them coming from row three. Trombino was able to get a good clean start and at the end of lap one was in seventh position just behind the lead pack, and chasing down Andrew Nelson. Frank was able to get passed Nelson on lap two but now had rookie sensation and factory Canadian Kawasaki rider Brett McCormick all over him. McCormick was able to get by Frank, but Frank could run his pace and together they chased down the next group led by Francis Martin aboard the Factory Suzuki. The leaders had a gap to the fight for fifth that included Frank Trombino on his Prostar prepared Suzuki GSXR 1000. With Martin going down Frank moved up to sixth place where he would eventually finish. This was another outstanding result for the Prostar team as they have solidified themselves as a competitive team among all of the factory efforts. Following the race Trombino said, “Riding the thousand was a challenge today around such a small and rough track, but our bike is right there with the factory guys, I can’t wait for the final round at Shannonville”. The next event for the Prostar Motorsports Suzuki team will be the season finale of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship on August 31 September 2, 2007 at Shannonville Motorsports Park, just east of Belleville, Ontario. More, from a press release issued by MotoSix: MotoSix Wins At Pueblo Motorsports Park MotoSix rider’s Dave Gallant and Aaron Clark both took home wins and podium positions during the MRA return to Pueblo Motorsports Park this past weekend. With temperatures soaring over the 100 degree mark both days, keeping the bikes and riders cool enough to compete was the most difficult aspect of the weekend. Even with the heat, Dave Gallant started off the weekend with a win in Saturday afternoon’s grueling Heavyweight Endurance race. “The heat is really hard on the bike and tires, but I picked a reasonable pace and just tried to tick off consistent laps. I can’t say enough about the Pirelli tires this weekend; if they can handle this type of abuse and still win races for me, they can handle anything!” commented Dave Gallant of MotoSix Motorsports. Not to be outdone, on Sunday morning Aaron Clark lined up against the best Colorado had to offer in Open Supersport and placed his Fay Meyer’s sponsored Suzuki GSX-R1000 on the top of the podium. He followed up this performance with a strong 2nd place in the MRA’s premier class “Race of the Rockies”. “We have the bike and tires sorted out quite well by now, so really it is just a matter of nailing the setup for the conditions and me putting my head down and riding clean laps. These guys are definitely fast at this track and they made me work hard for the win this morning, but the bike and Pirelli tires were spot on so I couldn’t have asked for a better bike,” commented Aaron Clark. Finishing up the day, Dave Gallant had a very close race with the Heavyweight Supersport points leader. Dave Gallant and Mike Applegate put on a spectacular show for the crowd through drafting battles and multiple lead changes per lap, quickly separating themselves from the rest of the Heavyweight Supersport field. At the checkered flag, Mike Applegate just edged out Dave Gallant for the win. MotoSix rider’s Aaron Clark and David Gallant will compete next with the USBA at Miller Motorsports Park on August 25th and 296th. More, from a press release issued by USGPRU: Records get trimmed at Barber ODENTON, MD. Inspiration and instruction proved to be a winning combination this weekend as the USGPRU took to the Barber Motorsports Park for the fifth round of the East Coast Championship. In addition to the great racing action, Erion Honda’s Josh Hayes, and Celtic Racing’s Chaz Davies were on hand to participate in the USGPRU’s Apex Academy. The pro riders were able to provide on-track as well as classroom instruction to riders wishing to improve their racecraft. The combination of Davies experience racing 250GP bikes across Europe and Hayes’s extensive knowledge of the US racing scene made for a dynamic and exciting learning environment. Due to time limitations, qualifying was canceled for all classes, and the grids were based on national points standings followed by order of entry. This put young PJ Jacobsen on pole position for Sunday’s Rising Sun Cycle 125GP race. Coming off his first loss of the season at Road America, PJ was determined not to let the veteran Nobi Iso steal any more precious championship points. But when the green flag dropped, Iso put his Aprilia out in front with PJ in tow as well as a gaggle of other 125’s. The battle that we’ve seen play out at every round this year between PJ and Nobi began again, but the twist this time seemed to be that PJ’s Honda actually had a little bit of power on Nobi’s Aprilia. PJ set a new track record (formerly set by Brian Kcraget) twice during the race, but Nobi pulled out a last lap charge, and eclipsed PJ’s fast lap with a blistering 1:34.006 lap. But it wasn’t enough as even though he out-drove PJ on the final corner, PJ motored on by to win by a narrow .04 second. The battle for third was fairly heated between Melissa Paris, Benny Solis, and Red Bull Rookie competitor, Kris Turner. Solis and Turner broke away from Paris about half-way through the race. The two kids diced for the final podium spot, but Solis started throwing lapped riders at Turner and was able to effectively open a gap that Turner couldn’t close. The 250GP race was wrought with controversy as former world 250GP, AMA Pro, and MotoGP racer, Chaz Davies entered the frey just for fun. Apparently he had so much fun teaching the USGPRU racers in the Apex Academy, that he got the bug again and couldn’t resist entering another GP race. The odds were stacked against him though as he had to start in dead last on the 29-bike grid, and ride a tired 1993 Honda RS250 affectionately named ‘Sea Biscuit’. Another wild-card rider, Perry Melneciuc, came out of retirement to campaign his Yamaha TZ250 for the weekend. He too had to start on the last row, but the former top-5 AMA racer could not be counted out. The start saw Californian, Ryan Ferris nail the launch and he immediately opened a 2-3 bike lead over second place. But the pace proved to be too much, as he crashed in the museum turn on lap 1. By lap 2, Chaz had broken into the top-5, and Eddy Brunet had his hands full with Mark ‘Big Man’ Kelly. Melissa Paris was also in the mix aboard her Josh Hayes tuned, Celtic Racing machine along with Kyle Ferris and Kris Turner. Chaz broke through the pack by lap 3 and the rest, as they say, is history. He put on a final lesson of the weekend as he set a new USGPRU track record of 1:32.517 (formerly set by Garrett Carter in ’05) and proceeded to walk away from the pack at an alarming rate. Perry Melneciuc had also been making strong progress and was fighting with Eddy Brunet for second place. The roller coaster section of the track proved too much for Eddy’s Honda as it chewed up and spit out the championship points leader on lap 5. Youngster, Kyle Ferris had one of his best 250GP finishes as he captured the final podium slot. Full results are as follows: Rising Sun Cycle 125GP 1. Patrick P.J. Jacobsen (Hon RS125) 2. Nobi Iso (Apr RS125R) 3. Benny Solis, Jr. (Hon RS125) 4. Kristian Turner (Hon RS125) 5. Melissa Paris (Hon RS125) 6. Hayden Gillim (Hon RS125) 7. Miles Thornton (Hon RS125) 8. John Hjelm (Hon RS125) 9. Chase Vivion (Hon RS125) 10. Fernando Ferreyra (Hon RS125) 11. Lloyd Ramsey (Hon RS125) 12. Merle Eschman (Hon RS125) 13. Scott Thompson (Hon 125) 14. Cassidy Heiser (Hon RS125) 15. Crystal Campagna (Hon RS125) 16. Brian McLaughlin (Yam TZ125) 17. Marc Whitney (KTM 125) 18. Garet Tomlinson (Hon RS125) 19. Glen Pison (Hon RS125) 20. Jake Mormon (Hon RS125) 21. Tony Wang (Hon RS125) 22. Lee Hollimon (Hon RS125) 23. Travis Huffman (Hon RS125) 24. Ryan Conrad (Hon RS125) 25. Shannon Anderson (Hon RS125) 26. J.P. Bartlett (Hon RS125) 27. Marcus Matthews (Hon RS125) 28. Pierson Callahan (Apr RS125R) 29. Scotty Vanhatten (Hon RS125) 30. Allen Campbell (Hon RS125) 31. Adam Neese (Hon RS125) 32. Steve Wenner (Hon RS125) 33. Morten Frederiksen (Hon RS125) 34. Chris Techeyden (Hon RS125) 35. Tyler Odom (Hon RS125) 250GP: 1. Chaz Davies (Hon RS250 ‘Sea Biscuit’) 2. Perry Melneciuc (Yam TZ250) 3. Kyle Ferris (Hon RS250) 4. Kristian Turner (Hon RS125) 5. Melissa Paris (Hon RS250) 6. Steve Wenner (Hon RS250) 7. Patrick Dowd (Yam TZ250) 8. Kory Gill (Yam TZ250) 9. Sean Wray (Yam TZ250) 10. Mark Stiles (Yam TZ250) 11. Mark “Big Man” Kelly (TSR/Hon RS250) 12. Jim Bergey (Hon RS250) 13. Allen Campbell (Yam TZ250) 14. JP Bartlett (Yam TZ250) 15. Tony Wang (Hon RS250) 16. Chris Manfrin (Yam TZ250) 17. Jim Bonner (Yam TZ250) 18. Travis Huffman (Yam TZ250) 19. Michael Rajotte (Hon RS250) 20. Michael Danielson (Yam TZ250) 21. Crystal Campagna (Hon RS125) 22. Daniele Lenardazzi (Yam TZ250) 23. Jon Cone (Hon RS250) 24. Eddy Brunet (Hon RS250) 25. Ofir Daniel Abergal (Apr RS250) 26. Ryan Ferris (Hon RS250) 27. Bruce Lind DNS More, from a press release issued by Steve Martin’s publicist: Podium Finish for Martin at Oschersleben 24H Steve Martin finished last weekend’s Oschersleben 24 Hour race of the World Endurance Championship on the podium with a third place finish. Riding for Yamaha Austria again after a successful outing at the Suzuka 8 Hour two weeks ago, Steve and team mates Igor Jerman – another SBK old-hand – and fellow Aussie Damian Cudlin rode their Yamaha YZF-R1 onto third place. Despite making a poor tyre choice at the start of the race and Igor Jerman suffering a minor crash, the team made its way to second place with four hours of the race left to run. A tense final few hours of racing followed however when the bike began to overheat, forcing the team to slow up to preserve the engine and settle for third place behind winners SERT Suzuki and second placed team Kawasaki France. Steve commented, “I really enjoyed the whole twenty four hours but it was especially exciting for the last few hours. We made the decision to back our pace off a little as the engine was overheating but we were still holding our own against Kawasaki. All was under control until all the water spat out with one hour to go but the team did a great job at fitting a new radiator and getting us back on the track in only a few minutes. The suspense of whether we would make the finish or not then had everyone hooked but it all worked out ok. Many thanks to the team, Damian and Igor for a great weekend.” Steve now returns to his European base in Switzerland following a hectic month of back to back testing, racing and commentating across various championships, to further consider the options available to him over the next few months.
