While many readers have heard of Mick Doohan, Carl Fogarty, Troy Bayliss and Mat Mladin, very few people outside of Canada have heard of Francis Martin, the reigning Canadian Superbike Champion. In 1999 Francis Martin rode his Factory Kawasaki ZX7RR to 2 victories in the 7 race Canadian Series by holding off his fellow Kawasaki Teammates Michael Taylor (1 victory) and Jeff Williams (1 victory) along with Honda
Mounted Jordan Szoke (3 victories). Francis Martin also kept in tact the winning tradition of Kawasaki Canada. Kawasaki Canada has won 9 straight Canadian Superbike Championships. The Winning tradition began with Steve Crevier from 1991 to 1993, the torch then handed to Micheal Taylor who won in both 1994 and 1996 and split these 2 victories with Don Munroe 1995 and 1997. 1998 saw Jordan Szoke become the youngest Canadian Superbike Champion outsmarting the veterans Munroe and Taylor all on Kawasaki equipment.

In 1999 Jordan Szoke did the unthinkable and went to Honda Canada whom hadn't won a Superbike race in 12 years let alone a championship. In 1987 Ruben McMurter scored Honda Canadas last Superbike win on a VFR 750.  In 1999 Jordan Szoke didn't win the Championship, but he did win 3 races in spectacular fashion for Honda on a CBR 900.

Yet it was Francis Martin whom was in the drivers seat. He lead in points from the beginning of the year and took advantage of other racers adversity. With virtually no challenges coming from Yamaha and Suzuki, he simply kept his teamates at bay and rode a strong series of 2nds and a 4th to back up his title points lead. By the Final Round in Shannonville,

Francis Martin only needed to finish 8th or better. He took the Championship with a 5th place finish, while Michael Taylor took the victory and the outright lap record, beating the old record held by Pascal Picotte on the Fast By Ferraci Ducati. A record many thought to be untouchable and proof that Mike Taylor, 2 time Canadian Superbike Champion, may be the fastest Superbike Racer in Canada.

But what happened in 1999 set the scene for 2000. The sleeping giant awoke and Honda Canada got serious about their racing program. Not content with funding the privateer effort of Jordan Szoke, Hondas taste of victory created a whole new atmosphere within the company. The team for 2000 was going to be in house. The Bikes where going to be REAL superbikes and the latest that HRC had on the offering. Honda was going out and getting the RC51. Honda Canada quickly resigned Jordan Szoke to a contract that made all AMA offers look minor. Soon after they outbid Suzuki for the services of the returning Superbike 4 time Champion Steve Crevier. The Recently Sacked AMA Yoshimura Suzuki Superbike/Supersport racer and former 1998 the AMA 600 Supersport Champion. With Steve Crevier comes the experience and maturity to win races. With Young Gun Jordan Szoke and 4 time Canadian Superbike Champion Steve Crevier at the helm on RC 51s, the only question in the off season was..... "How good will the Canadian Spec RC 51 be"?

In 1999 Suzuki put all their eggs in one basket and didn't get on the podium all year. Neil Jenkins was unable to get the job done on the Scott Miller Fast Company GSXR 750cc Superbike. Suzuki built a very high calibre superbike around the GSXR 750. A weapon that is referred to as "Brutus" because of its high strung nature. Suzukis focus for 2000 was the same as 1999. Its not the bike, its the rider. And with that, they stole the Unretired Racer Linnley Clark from the Yamaha Squad. Linnley Clark reappeared on the Scene in 1998 at Mosport with his 1993 YZF 750 superbike that he used to campaign against the likes of Steve Crevier and his Kawasaki. At Mosport, Linnley Clark did the unthinkable, and charged his 5 year old privateer machine to the front, passing the American "Team Valvoline Emgo Suzuki" of Josh Hayes, then ran down the Kawasaki of Jordan Szoke and to take the overall lead. But as fate would have it, the Yamaha ran out of gas on the last turn and Linnley coasted to 5th place. Linnley sat out the rest of 1998 hoping for a phone call. It finally came and in 1999 he campaigned a YZF600R for Yamaha Canada and rode rough shod on the 600 class, with his only serious challenger being Owen Weichel on the Honda Canada CBR 600F4. With his #1 600 National Plate in hand, Clark found himself once again a fulltime factory racer but now on Suzuki Equipment. Suzuki is hell bent and determined that Kawasaki will not get 10 consecutive Superbike Championships. They believe they have the bike and the racer to back up that position.

Yamahas 1999 focus turned to the 600 and Open Sportbike Classes. Factory efforts were focused upon winning both these classes and proving that the YZF is the best production bike out of the box. Linnley Clark handily won the 600 class and Benoit Pilon won the Open Sportbike Class.  The dominance of team green, the 1998 600 and Open Class winners, showed that there could be a chip in the armour. With the 600 and Open class championships in hand, Yamaha has focused their 2000 season around R1 based Superbikes for Benoit Pilon and the incredibily talented Frank Trombino.

The Factory teams of Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha have put forth incredible resources to the sole purpose of displacing the BIG GREEN MACHINE from the podium and end their consecutive Superbike Championships at 9.

To Quote Steve Crevier. "I started the Kawasaki Domination, I intend to end it.  I left Canada on a 6 race winning Streak, I intend to continue it". A bold statement and great to hear if you are in the Honda camp, they are betting an RC 51 and their reputation on it.

The Classes - The Canadian National Series runs 3 different classes on racetracks across Canada.

600 Sportbike - Production 600 motorcycles sold in Canada. Maximum Horsepower of 105. Minimum Weight of 380. Stock Carbs and Airbox required. DOT Street Tires.

Open Sportbike - Unlimited Displacement. Maximum Horsepower of 140. Minimum Weight of 380.   Stock Carbs and Airbox. DOT Street Tires.

Canadian Superbike - Unlimited Displacement. Production Based Motorcycles. Slicks, Steel Rotors, minimum weight of 350lbs.

On to Calgary - Race results of the Superbike and 600 races were posted on MCNEWS immediately after the races were completed. Full coverage of the rounds and races will follow as we continue to bring you up to speed with the series in the "Great White North".

Go here for Calgary coverage.