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Canadian SuperBike Round 3
| Frank Trombino dominated a 5
lap sprint race to the checkered flag on his Yamaha Canada, P. Egan tuned
YZF1000R1 and set a new outright motorcycle lap record along the way after
a red flag incident occurred on the 10th lap of the 16 lap race. Following
Frank across the line was none other than the pole sitter, Steve Crevier
on his Honda Canada RC51, who previously
set the lap record in qualifying the day before. Also on the podium
was Jordan Szoke on his Honda Canada RC51. Finishing a very close fourth
across the line was Kawasaki Canada ZX900R racer Michael Taylor.
Neil Jenkins on the Kawasaki ZX7RR of the injured Francis Martin came
out ahead in a tight battle with the Sportbike Class mounted CBR929
of Clint McBain. American
Larry Denning on his Yamaha YZF1000R1 was a solid 7th and fellow
American Manny Manusuthakis finished 8th on his Suzuki GSXR 750 in his
1st appearance in the Canadian Superbike series. It was both racers
first trip to the intimidating Mosport
circuit.
Following the Americans and filling out the top 10 were Quebec Based Racers Martin Hamel and Francios Dumas, both on Kawasaki ZX9R equipment. Veteran Racer David Church, entered his 1st national for 2000 and brought home his private Kawasaki ZX6R to a surprising 11th place finish on the fast sweeping Mosport circuit. Mosport is a track which rewards bravery and punishes mistakes. Reigning Superbike Champion and 1999 Mosport Lap Francis Martin was unable to start the race after a crash during Thursday testing. He is said to be out for the season with a badly broken ankle. Benoit Pilon, 2nd in Friday Qualifying, to teammate Frank Trombino, was reported to have a broken leg after a 120 mph get off on the downhill chute of Mosports frightening blind turn#4. The Superbike Race began with Steve Crevier taking the lead, soon to be overtaken by Frank Trombino. Within a lap 5 racers had broken away from the pack. Trombino, Crevier, Taylor, Clark, and Williams were all heading toward mid 1:24.5 lap times. Jordan Szoke racing with a Broken Wrist had fallen back to a distant 6th place and quickly looked out of contention. Soon the Unretired Linley Clarke charged his Monsterous GSXR900 extreme superbike, nicknamed Brutus through the pack to battle for the lead with Trombino, Crevier and Taylor. As the race progressed a blanket could be thrown over the top 5 racers and it looked more like a 600 race than a superbike race with multiple passing at every straight and turn for position. Frank Trombino fell to 4th and 5th swapping back with Michael Taylor. Jeff Williams fought his Kawasaki ZX7RR past Taylors ZX9R and proceeded to pursue Crevier on the RC51 and then Leader Linley Clarke and the Suzuki. As things transpired, the times maintained themselves in Lap record territory as the lead 5 racers continued to swap positions. By the 7 lap Jordan Szoke had managed to run down the lead group. His bike did not have the power on Mosports long "Andretti" straight and the other motorcycles continued to pull away from him heading into the final 3 turns. Szoke, the current points leader, was able to catch Taylor and Trombino, and now ALL SIX bikes were capable of pulling off the win. The pace then picked up as the all the racers went into the low 1:24s and Jeff Williams was looking very strong and very aggressive. Jeff Williams, a non factor so far in the championship, put forth a wild and bold ride and was not settling for anything less than a win. Heading into lap #9 it was Linley Clarke (Suzuki), Steve Crevier (Honda), Jeff Williams (Kawasaki), Frank Trombino (Yamaha), Mike Taylor (Kawasaki) and Jordan Szoke back into 6th, all within less than a bike length from one another in one of the most spectacular races in Canadian Superbike history. The race had been amazing so far and the crowd was cheering for each change of the lead which had been many. Then heading into turn #1 Williams (Who had just challenged for the lead in turn 8), came charging again from 3rd, with a bold move past Steve Crevier. Heading into turn #2 Williams was running hot, very very hot. He dove under Leader Linley Clark and promptly tucked the front on Mosports dangerous and blind decreasing radius downhill turn #2. Williams was in big trouble as the bike was heading for the haybales along the concrete wall. Clarke on the outside had NOWHERE to go and was taken out with Williams, both bikes smashing through the bales and destroying themselves along the concrete wall. Steve Crevier then in 3rd, took evasive action but couldn't remain on the track. In a moment of uncertainty, he stood bike up and tried use up all the runoff room available, the walls coming every closer, Crevier managed to keep the bike upright, get it turned and run along the wall, before re entering the track safely in 4th. Trombino, Taylor and Szoke all went through turn #2 unscathed and a new race developed as Szoke charged to 2nd. Crevier was back in action a good distance from the front runners. Coming into lap 11 the race was red flagged because of the turn #2 Crash. Clarke was rocked and Williams appeared ok. The wreckage was everywhere, and Clarke was having difficulty sitting up. Suzukis 1st win of 2000 looked to be over. Soon Clarke was up and ok, and headed for a backup bike in case of a restart. If the results went back 1 lap, Clarke would be the victor. The crowd shouted for more, Taylor, Crevier, Szoke, and Trombino were all on Turn #3 and the fans were crazy. "We want more, We want MORE", they were shouting. Partisan fans from each camp were all cheering their racers as they stood before turn #3 with helmets off. The race had been a barn burner, and with both Williams and Clarke, ok, it appeared that all 6 racers would be available for the restart, if their was one. Szoke could be heard shouting to the fans in Turn #3, "I need a 39 tooth, as he pointed to his rear sprocket". In response Mike Taylor stated, "I need a beer" in which the crowd went into a frenzy and beer was raised from one end of the corner to the other. Szoke headed off to the pits awaiting the race directors decision. A 39 tooth sprocket was waiting and the crew went to work. Clark and Williams were both forbidden from re entering the race with bikes other than the ones they began the race with, and it was apparant that these motorcycles were beyond repair. Shortly after crews started changing tires and the race director announced that no tire changes would be allowed. By this time Szoke had the rim off and the new sprocket mounted on his RC51. The race was about to begin. The restart had Crevier take the lead and soon Trombino blasted past. Frank Trombino, then put in the most inspired ride of his career, riding fast and smooth on the Yamaha Canada YZF1000R1. He went faster than he went all weekend, and reset the lap record. It was a pace that Crevier on the RC51 couldn't match. The YZF was a bullet down the long straight, and the RC51 was not able to make the ground up in the final 3 turns of the very fast 10 turn circuit. Szoke meanwhile found success in his gearing change and was able to keep Michael Taylor and his Kawasaki ZX9R extreme racer behind him for the entire 5 laps. The race from this point on was pretty uneventful in terms of lead changes, as Frank Trombino just up the ante, more and more every lap. It is unknown if he was just playing possum in the first 10 laps and biding his time for a break in the last 6 laps. On the last lap of the 5 lap restart, it was Frank Trombino (YamahaR1), for his very 1st Canadian Superbike Victory, followed by 4 time Canadian Superbike Champion, Steve Crevier (Honda RC51), then 3rd went to 1998 Canadian Superbike Champion, Jordan Szoke (Honda RC51) and fourth went to 2 time Canadian Superbike Champion Michael Taylor. After the results were official, Jordan Szoke was penalized 7 points for his Pit lane infraction during the red flag. 1) Frank Trombino, Yamaha R1 Yoshimura Pro 600 Sportbike #1 Plate Holder Linley Clark brought the Jamie Bruins tuned GSXR 600 to its 1st National series victory on the challenging 10 turn Mosport road racing circuit. In a red flagged filled event the 600 race was stopped on 2 separate occassions in the early portions, reducing the # of scheduled laps from 12 to 9. In each restart, the injured Jordan Szoke did worse, as the injury would flare up during the long waiting periods. In 3 successive restarts it was Steve Crevier getting the hole shot leading into turn #1. The 600 race contested by Jeff Williams, Kawasaki, Owen Weichel now on the 4&6 Yamaha YZF600, along with Steve Crevier and Jordan Szoke both on Honda CBR600. Jon Cornwall, the Ohlins World Superbike Championship technician charged from 13th position on the grid up to 4th by the end of race after starting from the last row in the heat race the previous day. The race long battle saw pushing and shoving between Cornwell, Weichel and Crevier as the 3 veterans beat on one another. Linley Clarke had a poor start and managed to thread his way through the battling participants to take the lead but challenged every corner by the five other 600cc racers. As the racers crossed the finish line on the 9th lap the final running order was: 1) Linley Clark, Suzuki However Jon Cornwell was docked one position for exceeding the horsepower regulated 105 limit moving Weichel into 4th. 600 Points leader Weichels comment before the official notice, was a simple, "WHHHOOO, HAAAA, THAT'S RACING!!!!," in apparent satisfaction of the calibre of racing in the 600 class, that was bar banging action. He definitely was enjoying himself, even if he was rudely moved to the side by both Crevier and Corwall. Kevin Lacomb put in his best ride of his limited participation in the Canadian Series. A strong 6th place finish, after struggling for results during the St. Eustache weekend. Here are the Horsepower and Weights of the top 5 600 finishers 105max/370min 1) Clark, Suzuki, 104.3/376 INTERNATIONAL MOTORCYCLE SUPERSHOW PRO OPEN SPORTBIKE Owen Weichel lead from flag to finish to take the Pro Open Sportbike victory on his 4&6 Yamaha R1. 2nd Place Challenger Frank Trombino on the Yamaha Canada YZFR1 followed Weichel to the line while J.F. Cyr edged points leader Michael Taylor to the finish line, denying the Kawasaki ZX9R a podium position on Mosports highspeed fast sweeping circuit. American racer Larry Denning put in another strong race on his Yamaha YZFR1 for the 5th position, getting 3 Yamahas into the top 5. Here are the Horsepower and Weights of the top 5 Open Sportbike Finishers 1) Owen Weichel, Yamaha, 382/139.3 |
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